Farther Than Heaven
by Kujiforo
Summary: Discontinued A first shot at Crash Fanfiction. Chapter 5, Despondency, is UP! The mystery revolving around Heaven is unfolding, and an all out war is in the wake!
1. Hideaway

Farther Than Heaven A Crash Bandicoot Fic created by terrorofdeath8

Chapter 1: Hideaway

Feet pounding against the wet earth, a stream of hot rain glazing Its face, pooling around the ankles in shallow glass puddles, the figure ran wildly, a blinking shadow in the crimson of the setting sun. It breathed and knew It was alive once again, for It felt so, and It accepted it as purely factual, that instant that It opened Its eyes and inhaled once again. Ripples of water lapped at the purple bruises, cutting like knifes into the delicate white skin, slashing with relentless fury. That same presence that knew It was to be caught and killed once again, like a mouse ensnared in the traps of the world, doomed to be forever hated and forever hunted against Its will. With gasping breaths It ran, farther away from the truth, lesser into the light, nearer to the safety of the darkness. Night would envelope It and incubate It, sustaining It with life until It regained Its full potential. A cry, harsh and ragged with weariness, burst from the parched lips. With a growing hope It scanned Its destination; the far reaches of forest thickened in the distance, shimmering mysteriously from the downpour that fell against its outskirts. Everything was hazy, as if in a dream or a trance, but It knew that It was awake and well, and that time was not so merciful. Blue eyes brimmed with salted tears, a sign of human characteristic although at the same time completely alien. They swam in eternal misery, in coming fear. Once It reached the greenery It would be safe for a time. Oh, but only for a time… Nothing lasts forever. Time weighs upon the flesh as well as the heart. It knew this, and that's precisely the reason why It had to escape. The reason It had to remain hidden until time would come again to unleash It.

That time would come sooner than It thought…

The girl bandicoot sighed, a hint of slight frustration in her tiny voice. The large green eyes stared out of the open window, unblinking at the scene of nature's wrath unfolding outside the glass pane. One of her hands rested lightly on the surface, the fingers splayed about casually. "It's never going to stop, is it?" Coco was referring to the cold rain that fell in sheets over the small house located at the heart of the forest. It could be heard beating loudly on the rooftop, muffling the music that floated happily from a pair of earphones that lay on the countertop, next to her computer. She had lived there in that same hut her whole life, or at least ever since she could remember. It was a simplistic structure, built solely out of gopher wood and nailed together with hard steel. The roof overhead consisted of smaller, finer pieces of wood, cut in flat slabs, and pasted with red mud, leaves, and bamboo rope. Despite it's meager appearance, the fort held up quite well, even in the midst of storms such as this. Coco wasn't the least bit concerned for the safety of the shack, for she knew all too well the strength it could sustain. It was her sense of vitality that was at stake. Her bones ached from the lack of sunshine, her head throbbing for the piney smell of the outdoors. For nearly two weeks it had rained nonstop, and the water had begun to soak through the cracks in the wood nearest to the sandy floor. For days she had trod upon wet soil, the grimy feeling it left between her bare toes a plausible nuisance. It wasn't only this factor that made her so upset, however. It was also true enough that they had nearly depleted all of the food supplies kept in the pantry, and her stomached growled hungrily even as she spoke. "It's just never going to stop"  
A loud thumping noise, not belonging to the descending rain, sounded in the next room over, a semi-formed kitchen area where the pantry and a nice dining table resided. The hair on the female bandicoot's neck stood on end. She whipped her head around, her blonde locks falling in her eyes, and almost instantly, a hand went up to brush them away. When her heart finally stabled itself to normal pace she sighed again, "Crash! What….are you doing….?"

The other bandicoot looked at his sister with a bemused expression plastered on his face, his hands covered with a thick, lumpy substance. His fur was matted down, droplets of water dripping from the tips. With the same air as before, he shrugged nonchalantly and moved into the next room, leaving wet stains on the yellow sand floor. Coco hung her head, shaking it softly, the bangs falling into her eyes once again. She moved the toes on her bare feet, tapping the ground almost nervously. Crash was her older brother, another occupant of the house. Unlike his sister, Crash had not an ounce of common sense, spending his days lazing away, sometimes sleeping, sometimes learning a myriad of tricks on his prized yo-yo, other times goofing off and making mischief. He never spoke sentences; the only word that Coco had ever heard him utter was "whoa!" a clear ejaculation of the nonsensical sort. Pura, Coco's pet baby tiger came hurtling into the room, spreading dust in the air as he pawed the ground near his master's feet. With a content purr he rolled over onto her back, exposing his chest in submission. The girl bandicoot laughed as she squatted on her haunches and reached out a hand to gently rub the furry belly. "What's wrong, Pura? Are you afraid of the storm?"

"That is unlikely. He was merely frightened by Crash's entrance." Aku Aku floated casually into the room and Coco's gaze rose to meet his. The witchdoctor mask made it known that he was the master of the household, fathering both Coco and Crash with utmost care and love. Despite his rather strict attitude, Aku Aku had the kindest of hearts, always willing to give and reluctant to receive. His voice filled the room with an aura of warmth, even as the freezing rain continued to pelt the roof restlessly. "That boy, always slamming the door…" He closed his eyes for a brief second before adding, "What was he doing outside in a storm like this anyways?" Pura purred as Coco straightened her posture, jamming her hands into the pocket of her low-ride jeans. One of her feet still tapped the sandy ground.

She stared at the mask with utmost sincerely, "I…really don't know. I tried to ask him but…" She made a few gestures with her head in the direction that Crash fled. Aku Aku nodded, his wooden face hardening from curiosity. Without so much as a sigh, he turned and followed Crash's wet droplet trail into the back room of the shack. Coco stood erect for a minute more before lightly kicking Pura, forcing the tiger to rise from the floor and look at her lovingly. "Go eat something boy. I'm too busy to play with you right now." As the girl bandicoot watched Pura mewl and disappear into the kitchen, she made way for her computer, the earphones connected to it still pulsing out a lively array of musical scores. With a tiny bit of hesitance, she lifted her laptop from the table on which it sat and plopped onto the floor, placing the computer on her lap. Her legs tucked safely against her body in Indian style, Coco managed to get comfortable, popping the headset in place, and began typing furiously, the clicking of the keys ringing to the same rhythm of the rain.

"Ung…." Light flooded the small, metal room, bright enough to arouse the figure sleeping on the silken, opal couch. Whoever was dozing was barely visible, as their entire body was concealed under a thick, hand-sewn quilt, the patchwork coming undone, and raveling at the ends. "What? Wha….what is…..it? What's….going on?" A soft voice ululated from under the covers. It was a peculiar noise, muffled somewhat, but still clear enough so that one would recognize a metallic twinge in the accent. With only this evidence, one would certainly think that the voice belonged to a cyborg or another breed of robotic genius. Given the facts, the speculation may or may not be true. Solely, in a sense yes, but altogether a work of false lunacy. Twenty-four year old Nitro Gin was as human as anyone, but fate had determined that he would live his later years as a mechanical miracle. Four years earlier, under mysterious circumstances, one of the distinguished physicist's missile projects went haywire and struck him directly in the head, disabling his right ocular cavity and connecting with the right half of his brain. His larynx also suffered immensely from the sheer impact, rendering his vocals useless. The medical staffing was able to reconstruct the live rocket into a cyber life support system by connecting the wires into the synapses of the right side of his brain, therefore connecting the electrical jolts with that sent to the brain cells in similar formation to the ones that feed the brain with information, keeping the heart pumping properly and the limbs of the body functioning adequately as they should. Metal plating was fitted to Nitro's head, covering the majority of the right half of his face, so that the missile would stay firmly in place. The only downfall of the procedure was the fact that the rocket was directly linked to the side of the brain dealing with emotions, and if Nitro ever gets angry he will literally blow his top. The smoke billowing from the rocket drifted above the sheets, hovering like an angry cloud in the gray room, smothered by the coldness it radiated. Again the voice came, one of artificiality. "Hey! What….."

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!"

"Oh….un……" The disoriented physicist rolled off of the couch in a bundle of blankets, making a thud as he hit the carpeted floor. He remained still for a moment, listening to the other man scuffling about in the laboratory, trying to push the effects of a two-hour sleep from his mind. His left eye blinked open, light filtering through the quilt and into his pupil that was slowly retracting. The robotic eye held much more sensitivity to visual stimuli, so that even the dimmed light caused pain to rampage his head. With a grunt, the covers parted, revealing first a hand, fingers gripping the edges of the blanket tightly, discarding the cloak. N.Gin, as he is called by most, came into clearer view of the intruder, who gave a nice, cackling laugh at the appearance of his colleague. The mop of fiery red hair swept down, disheveled, into Nitro's face, each strand clumped together with millions of others in one huge web of tangles. "I'm up." The metallic voice announced wearily. Smoke still rose into the room, though a trifle blacker, now distinguishable from the gray drab of the walls. 

"We have a dire situation." Said the other scientist from the far corner of the area, his yellowish skin dull in the flat stagnant air. His attention was trained upon a large, bright green screen that sat diagonal, sliding back from a panel of blinking buttons and suspicious looking knobs. The white words jumped, vibrant from the background, making N.Gin's head reel with another wave of pain. He stood to his feet, albeit slowly as not to topple over. Neo Cortex continued to stare at the screen, his face strained with what appeared to be unshackled worry and perplexity. N.Gin wobbled over to his partner, the reality of the situation still not made clear enough for him to share in Neo's apparent anxiety. The heavy-set scientist yawned, his vision still blurred slightly. It always happened in ways such as this. Sometimes it would take long hours for his brain to start functioning, and again sometimes only minutes. Today it felt as if it would take three hours for him to even be able to stop his head from bobbing with ache. Massaging his temple, N.Gin replied with another fit of yawns. "Situation? What are you talking about?" As if he thought it would help, Cortex slapped the other man on the back, knocking N.Gin forward, almost causing him to crash against the control panel above, which the information screen was so beautifully displayed. He coughed apologetically and moved on, "It seems as if she has escaped again. Her current location is two o'clock due north, on the outskirts of the forest." He folded his arms tightly across his chest, his fingernails digging into his arms in frustration, a line appearing in the middle of his forehead as his brow furrowed.

"Ah….I see." The other mumbled, moving in closer, still recovering from the blow that Cortex had sent his way. The dull sting still pounded his head, but in spite of that he managed to focus well enough to give proper input on the situation. With a delicate sigh he added, "We'll see if we can't stop her before she reaches her destination." He took a long drag of air into his lungs, shutting his eyes. "I'll get to work on it immediately, Dr. Cortex."

"Good. I want to be assured that this is cleaned up by first thing tomorrow morning." The short scientist turned his back on N.Gin, his arms still folded but his voice piping out softer than before. "Then you can get some sleep." He started for the door, got to the entrance and stopped again, his head turned slightly to take a look over his shoulder. "Don't fail me." And with those words he was gone. The metal door slammed behind him, the noise that it made ringing like a sounding cymbal.

"You can count on that." The lone physicist muttered into the empty room, his voice still slurring from lack of sleep. His dark eyes peered up at the evergreen images flashing on the screen, his tiny hands rubbing themselves together like a fly might do after taking a landing in a favorite spot. "You can certainly count on that."

Like a steady drum the rain lashed at the earth, and It was growing weary from running, Its bruised heels throbbing. It paused for a moment of restitution of Its strength, one of Its hands tenderly circling a dark purple splotch on the protruding ribcage. Like an animal, It was attentive to any sort of disturbance nearby in its wooded surroundings. The forest enveloped it like the welcoming arms of a mother. An adequate hideaway for dire situations such as the one It was in now. The singsong racket of insects and amphibians soothed Its mind, comforting Its sorrow. Oh, was It full of sorrow. The heart grew fonder over time, but it also grew ever colder, tuning out certain unwanted feeling and guilt. Guilt was such a sensitive subject, falling on the open ears of the unloved. And It certainly was unloved! Not a morsel of compassion would fall at Its marred feet. Ever. And time definitely had no passion to save It. Like a wandering cloud, It would drift in time and out of mind, circulating in such a way that death was no possibility of escape. Contemplating suicide was of no importance. That concept would fail as well. It knew this, and that is why sorrow chose to plague It every second of the turning days. It was miserable in Its existence.

The fog lifted from the ground, pale and translucent as a horde of ghosts. Songs waned and sprang up again to different tunes, all mixed in a conglomeration, an orchestra of the night. The heavens still wept with acrimony. Drumbeats of rain would not cease in the near future. That is, not until everything boiled down to corruption, until the hideaway was destroyed and It was unleashed again. Only then would the sun see fit that the earth deserved a smile. It sighed, a pitiful breath in the humid air, as It slumped to the earth, Its naked body wrapped in the cold, incubating. It grabbed up and handful of mud, hungrily, the cold blue eyes closing in on the darkness and creating new darkness. For now It was safe, even though a million eyes may be watching it. It was safe for now. Only for now…

The female bandicoot heard nothing but the soft melodic strains breathing from her headset, her fingers still furiously pressing keys. Aku Aku had still not emerged from the room with Crash, and so she figured that she had no reason to panic. It was typical of her brother to wander into raging storms. It was his nature to be profoundly odd on such subjects. Coco's emerald eyes began to blur; the computer screen unnaturally bright in the dimly lit hut. Fighting back a yawn, she switched the computer off and carefully removed the headpiece, the music now fading, magnifying the sounds in the real world. Thousands of critters chirped and buzzed beyond the window, where the rain had not slacked even for a moment. Glancing at her watch, Coco was surprised at how dark it was outside compared to the hour. 6:03 a.m. shown in bright red on the deep green dial. "I wonder what's keeping those two." The yawn came, and this time she did not try to choke it down, but let it escape rather noisily. Before padding back to the bedroom, she peeked in on Pura. The tiger was sleeping peacefully next to a half eaten wumpa fruit.

Silence in the room as she stepped in clarified that Aku Aku and Crash were down for the night as well. The thick mud was clear of her brother's hands, but his fur still looked slightly wet, glistening in the scarce amount of moonlight that peered through the canopy and into the window. "Guess it's time for me to crash as well." She muttered, another yawn threatening to explode. Her room was only a few steps away, the door shut, decorated with flowers and random other objects she scrounged up during her travels. The door creaked open with ease and she slipped in, nearing the single bed in the far right corner of the room. She sat on it for a second, quietly staring at the wooden walls, tracing the cracks and crevices they held. Like a miniature maze… Before long she found her head resting on the pillow, her eyes closing, her mind drifting off slowly into the comfort of sleep.

It was 7 a.m., the perfect time for dozing off after a long night of tedious work and pounding headaches. He had accomplished nearly nothing since Cortex had come barging in on him, interrupting his fitful sleep. She had disappeared into the green thickets approximately 15 minutes after the other man had left, not giving N.Gin enough time to stop her. He would explain to Cortex later….

"N.Gin!"

"Great…" Came the metallic whine as the weary Nitro lifted his head to see his colleague step into the room.

"I suspect that the situation is under control." Neo stated, his tone of unease making the other man fidget nervously. "Am I correct, N.Gin?" His eyes narrowed as if he were now reading the other scientist's thoughts. A frown widened his lips, pouching them out in an almost hilarious pout. If he weren't so worried, N.Gin might have laughed at the sight.  
The short physicist ringed his hands, "She escaped before I could capture her, doctor." He ran the next sentence together with the first so that Neo wouldn't be given a chance to protest. "But, I'm sure with another half hour of work, I could pinpoint her exact location in the forest and perhaps…." His voice trailed off, heart fluttering weakly.

Neo didn't reply. Instead, he graciously turned his back and sighed loudly. "We'll regroup and try again." He said finally, the softness of his voice reassuring N.Gin that he wasn't too angry at this blunder. "I want a location ASAP. Afterward, we'll dispatch a crew to pick her up." One gloved hand flew up to rub his chin. "We'll have to be cautious. She has some intuition of our plans."

"Yes, doctor." N.Gin muttered, head bowed in respect of his friend's decision not to thoroughly punish him. Suspension from sleep sounded like a pretty light condemnation. He'd just have to catch up on it much later. Rising to his feet, he clapped his hands together, announcing in a much more lively tone than before. "I'll get to work on it immediately, Cortex. I assume that you have expert operatives on hand, ready to jump on the case just as soon as she's found out."

"Correct." Neo listened intently as N.Gin agreed to follow through. He had always counted on his short friend for nice productivity, but this incident clearly put him at the top of the charts. Nitro would go without sleep just to aid him, and that factor graced a smile upon Cortex's lips. A flash of his rigidly straight teeth spouted off an evil laugh. The other scientist giggled happily as well. "Now that you are in good spirits, I'll leave the work to you while I go and rouse the others. She won't know what hit her." Neo exited the room, leaving N.Gin with another workload.

N.Gin carefully adjusted a few knobs, all the while glancing through a hi-tech eyepiece. She was out there…. Somewhere. He would find her soon enough. "You wanna play hide and seek, huh?" He laughed, tinkering with the bright glowing buttons on the immense operation panel. "Ready or not….here I come!"

The blazing sun only cast dim lights in the forest, the angry gray clouds smothering it from view. Rain still bolted down from the sky, hitting the ground with a deafening noise. The figure stirred a bit, now uncomfortable with the feeling that someone, or something, was watching It closely, studying Its every breath. With a terrible, rumbling sigh It blinked open the empty eyes, staring out, now able to make out where It had stopped for the night. A clump of bushes brushed Its right leg, beetles running over Its calf and ankle, sometimes biting It, sampling goods. It was leaned up against a tree, a sturdy, thick evergreen, the leaved drowning in Heaven's tears. With a cry It stood and shook off the pestering bugs, stretching Its arms overhead. Another long day would prove suspenseful. Another day of fleeing, running, dying a little more inside as the pressure of fate weighed upon Its head. Brown strands covered the pale face, the cold eyes looking through them and between them. A rumbling sound excited it, and a thin, emaciated hand patted Its empty stomach. Food. It was hungry.

With a wild howl It flagged down Its prey, a wild boar rooting in the muddy slop of earth, the pig's hind legs stuck under a pool of wet soil. It ate without cooking, crimson blood dribbling down Its mouth, running in streams off of Its pointed chin as the unfortunate swine bleated in pain and agony. The sound of the boar filled Its ears, and Its heart beat harder, faster in turmoil. Why did It have to hurt so badly? Would there ever be an end to these worthless sacrifices? As the white teeth dug deeper into the animal's stomach, blood spurting out of the wound, washing the corners of Its mouth as the coppery taste of the innocent fueled It, the beast ceased Its whimpering and slacked limply in it's captor's grip. The wild animal was dead at last, and the horrible screaming would plague the figure's ears no longer. The snow-white skin was now blemished with red stain and mud. Tarnished innocence, failed remorse…. It continued to feast, supplying Its stomach with the foul meal. The ice blue eyes, devoid of life, closed on the scene of sacrifice. There they were….the screaming again. It would never be able to silence the shrieking…

If there was such a thing as true peace, it could not be found here.

Not in the mind of the uncorrupted….the countenance of the pure….

Not even in the safe, warm embrace of a hideaway. 


	2. Revelation

Chapter 2: Revelation

It was time. From a long slumber, Crash Bandicoot awoke in a daze, blinking rapidly into the sunlight wafting through the open window. The rain had ceased its downpour, exiting into yesterday and discarding with it a fresh aroma. A faint wind blew into the open room, ruffling the curtains and sheets and likewise snipping quickly through the bandicoot's mahogany fur. He stood, shaking the sleep from him, mites and fleas dancing into the air and scrambling desperately to find shelter again. "….ah….." A breath struck him as Coco gleefully waltzed into the small span, her laptop tucked safely underarm.

"Good morning, Crash!" She took a moment to pause and stare out of the hut. "I'm so glad it's quit raining. We can finally go out again!" With a sigh she acknowledged her brother with a stare. "So get your shoes on! We're heading down to the beach to soak up some serious sun before the sky decides to start raining again." Her excited voice ringed throughout the house, bringing Aku Aku to the open doorway. The witch doctor spirit flashed a smile at the marsupials before entering and making his way to the window.

"Quite a day isn't it. I suspected that the storm would let up sooner or later." He commented, almost as if he were talking to himself. But he turned around, nodding to the two bandicoots, his cheery voice booming. "Coco is correct. We'd better go stock up and get some light before another storm arises. I fear that the sunshine won't last too much longer." He whizzed out of the room, Coco bobbing her head to his last few sentences. She casually turned to Crash, hand bouncing on her hip, the laptop held with utmost care in the other.

The female bandicoot laughed, throwing her head back, her blonde hair shining. "Let's get going Crash. I'll meet you at the door once you are ready." She skipped ahead as Crash slowly maneuvered himself to pull on his sneakers and comb his hair. A few times he threw glances toward the outside world as if he knew that the next storm would come sooner than they thought. And after this one, there would be no more sun.

Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say "goodnight" 'till it be morrow….

The book closed with a thump, dust whooshing out from under the tattered covers. One could see that this particular volume had been read many times over. Semi white papers protruded, struggling to stay in proper place as the mammoth crocodile swung it onto the shelf. The library was littered in literature, hardbacks stacked until no end along the wooden structures. It was a magnificent study, one to be compared to the most expensive mansion lounges, with burgundy carpeted floors and desks and tables and chairs that were polished until they glowed. Today a heap of Shakespearian documents and texts smothered a specific crook fancied by the mutant beast.

Dingodile was a ferocious animal, his features consisting of a conglomeration of dingo and crocodile components. Another subject of Cortex's Evolvo-Ray, the dog-faced croc was a civilized brute, gaining in strength and wit where his speed lacked. His brownish skin was splotched with darker color, turning into a nice orangey hue as it thickened over his stomach and masked his face. Despite his atrocious appearance and obsession with wielding a flamethrower, Dingodile could be a docile creature, indulging in the pleasures of poetry and Shakespeare.

With his ears perked for any upcoming news, he plucked up a book and stuffed his face between the covers, anticipating an exciting summer night's adventure with frolicking fairies and sprites. He read aloud in his prominent Australian accent, the noise echoing off of the elongated shelving. Just a few minutes into the play that Dingodile was so comfortably viewing, the immense double doors swung open, revealing Cortex followed by Tiny and Ripper Roo, two others influenced by the ingenious Evolvo-Ray. The trio marched in his direction like a miniature army going to the battlefront, the doctor in the lead, Tiny the enormous tiger on his master's trail, and Ripper Roo the maniacal kangaroo bouncing, taking up the tail. Each one wore completely different expressions so that Dingodile had massive difficulty trying to realize what was going on. Cortex wore some sort of tight grimace, Tiny had a touch of serenity plastered to his face, and Ripper Roo's gaze remained in its usual disoriented state. "What's going down, mates? Something ran amok? We havin' us a party?" The book went to his side as he turned to the incoming crew, eyes glistening with liquid anticipation.

Cortex's face stuck in a scowl, "SHE has escaped her unit and taken up shelter in the forest on Nsanity Island. N.Gin failed to stop her before she disappeared from sight and is in the main laboratory seeking her out with the Ultra-Telescope. He assured me that he would have her location within the hour, and so…" One of his gloved hands swept around, indicating the other two's presence. "…I have decided on a plan. We'll send you guys in to capture her and reel her into my lab. You'll have to be sneaky or she'll…"

"So, we ARE having us a party!" The text went down on the desk and one hand reached back to unlock the straps holding his prized fame-thrower. With lightening speed, the half dog, half crocodile menace whipped his weapon out, pointing it as if focusing on a target. "One blast with this thing and….."

"NO!" Cortex interrupted, his face screwing up in disgust. "I want her alive"  
"But…." The flame-thrower was lowered a bit.

"You heard Cortex." The tiger's booming voice confirmed as he turned his head, his saliva dripping fangs bared. "Tiny don't hurt her, Tiny drag her back to Cortex." He fell silent, waiting for the doctor to give his approval.

The reward didn't come his way. Cortex closed his eyes, his arms crossing themselves. "I need her back here as soon as possible. If you don't do so…." He blinked. "There will be consequences."

" Aye, captain." Dingodile remarked, mentally noting the change in game plan. "We'll drag the bloke back here. No making toast this time, unless we run into a certain marsupial, what, who goes by the name of Crash Bandicoot."

"Crash….yes….." All eyes flew to Cortex as the evil scientist cackled, a new plan yet again forming in his oversized brain. "We must have the crystals to carry out our experimentations. And to get the crystals, we must crush our arch-nemesis. Or perhaps…."

"Perhaps what?"

An annoying clicking reverberated off of the metal walls as the panel's green screen displayed an array of locations taken from an X-Ray view of the wooded area. In most of them, the surroundings were empty or showed some of the current wildlife roaming the parameters. However, with his trained eye, N.Gin caught a glimpse of a figure alien to the world of nature. It was SHE, he was sure, about a quarter of a mile into the green depths. She rested lazily against the trunk of a huge evergreen tree, her eyes closed (from what he could clearly tell) and her limbs slack. "Sleep well, little one." He spoke into the empty room, his hands pressed against her picture, his rounded face softening as he watched her slumber in the sunlight. The sunlight, a thing that he had so hoped for, was the key to her undoing, her revelation. It was the guilt that plagued him that he could not shake away, could not dodge. Because of a single wish on his part, she would undergo much pain and turmoil, strained under Cortex's experiment until she succumbed to his desires or possibly to death…

The scientist choked back a sob at the thought. If it were still raining, the clouds thick and heavy overhead, he might not have sighted her position. The fingers moved a little over her picture before sliding down onto the dark green spaces, but N.Gin's eyes stayed with steadiness on her face. With a new wave of emotion sweeping over him, he took a few seconds to press some of the buttons. Sliding easily, the camera view closed in on the girl's face, her portrait now only consisting of her head area, the features coming into a crisper, clearer view. The dark brown strands of clumpy, muddy hair brushed her pale face, concealing her closed eyes a bit. A thin-bridged nose turned up at the ends, revealing flared nostrils just the perfection of width. Soft, full-pillowed lips parted in an unending sigh over a slightly sloping chin line. Her cheeks were paler than before, sunken in, bruised with purple. Dried blood caked the corners of her mouth and some stuck grotesquely to what was seen of her once polished white teeth. The state she was in drove N.Gin to moan a little out loud, his left eye glittering with a few stray tears. One hand instantaneously wiped the moisture out, his vision now focusing again instead of wavering with bitterness. The eyes on the screen popped open at once, the cold deadness of the translucent blue irises holding the physicist captive, almost casting a knowing glare his way, saying to him "this is because of you." A sting in his chest flurried about and he clutched himself tightly as the eyes stilled over him, accusing, angry….

N.Gin wept.

When a bizarre premonition fell like a pall over the canopy, It opened Its eyes, staring ahead for a few moments as the light filtered down through the leafy overhead. Its nose curled as It smelled the fetid stench of old blood, and It remembered clearly the incident that had happened earlier that same morning. Now something was watching as the fine hairs stood on end, prickling up the nape of Its neck, Its gaze directed into the distance from which the feeling came, the strange sensation of being watched closely…

The air smelled of wet, tainting the other aromas that should be in place, overpowering them, knocking them from existence. Just the scent of wet and blood lingered behind. It stood. With a sweep of Its arm, It touched the great trunk that had sheltered It for the night. For the first time since escaping, It spoke, "Thank You." The words floated from the open mouth, the voice of an angelic being, pure yet bold, innocent yet mature. A brief silence followed, the blue eyes straining back in the same way that they had first opened. It was unveiled, unmasked, FOUND… With swift, staccato motions It fled a bit farther into the cavernous green, feet still screaming, the skin still pounding with horrible warmth. One of Its cuts had scabbed over before, but now, as It ran, the wound was reopened, burning in the humid air. A fresh stream of crimson sweated down in a new procession, from the kneecap to the bruised ankle. The soil was grinding between Its toes, the stagnant air suffocating It, making it hard to breath deeply and satisfying the lungs. It was drowning. For the first time, It became aware of Its history, the mind shooting forward a bombardment of pictures and scenes, severed into tiny pieces, almost as if they were nothing but figments. As It ran, Its brain did likewise, like a rolling camera.

First It was cradled in a blackness beyond comprehension, and It felt a sweltering cold settle over it as It opened Its eyes for the first time and saw this thing called life. Flash! It was now in the arms of someone with whom It felt great feelings for, though the face remained a blur, as if It were staring at the figure behind foggy glass. The warm arms enveloped It in comfort and security, gripping It firmly as the figure spoke to It in the politest of ways. Flash! There the figure was again, this time leaning against a metal table, elbows propped, head in hands. It had an aerial view of this, looking from Heavenward down as the one It cared so profoundly for suffered for whatever reason. It wasn't clear about this matter, but Its heart still broke with compassion and downright pity. Flash! It awoke in three stages. First was the acknowledgement of life, the second was the obtaining of feeling, and lastly was the understanding of death. The figure stood slack before It, face still obscured by the mist of Its memory. The mouth was moving, but this time no sound came forward. It strained to hear what the figure had to say and all at once the reflection faded, leaving behind a single word….

"Please."

"What a nice day." The girl bandicoot voiced with much enthusiasm, her laptop set down on the earth with care, her shoes kicked off, and her eyes fluttering with wonder. One of her hands stretched over her head in a light gesture, she nodded to her brother who had taken up a spot on the earth, his back lying on the ground, tongue lolling out of his agape mouth. He seemed transfixed by the sudden change in weather. Coco laughed as a butterfly flitted past her, wings moving gracefully in mid air, propelling it forward. She grabbed at it in attempt to catch it in her open hand, "Come here!" She protested as it darted away from her grasp.

Aku aku hovered a few feet away from the rolling sea, staring into the foamy waves. His thoughts drifted on the open blue, still so far away from ordinary, still chalked full with concern. The events in the past week had sparked him interest in Cortex's whereabouts. They had not heard from him in the past year or so and the peace was all to foreshadow something that would fell their serenity. The thousand year old witch doctor spirit couldn't think a truer thought than this. A greater storm rumbled in the distance, one not of nature's fury.

Crash was aware of the ominous sunny day as well, but he could care less of the haunting feeling tearing through his gut. He would take the day as it came, using it as an advantage to relax before whatever was destined to crack open in the future. With a sigh he steadied his arms behind his head, watching on with hilarity as his sister tried to capture the insect, circling around him, her feet dancing with glee and frustration. His ears pricked up as the baby tiger roared through the door, Polar, Crash's pet polar bear, hot on his trail. Pura's tail waved tauntingly in the cubs face as white paws slashed at it playfully. With a few bound they were out of sight, running into the depths of the forest near the hut. Coco stopped her flailing and watched them go, then trekked after them shouting, "Hey! Wait for me, Pura!" The lazy male bandicoot sat up abruptly with the intent of following them, willing to participate in the game as well. He stood, spun the dirt from his clothing and fur, and skipped into the green jungle, the wet air clinging to him with adamant claws. He had journeyed a fair distance into the tree infested area when the noise began. The rustling of the leaves indicated an incoming entity. This one was massive, larger than most of the animals that made the forest their habitat, and its speed was astonishing. His heart pounded furiously as he kept his eyes on the bushes, waiting impatiently for the creature to emerge. It stepped into the clearing, white flesh flashing past the bandicoot whose mouth was now shaped into an awed "o". Just as soon as It appeared, It dashed into the next set of brush and dissolved into the green pattern. The sound steadily waned until the only thing Crash could hear was the chirping of birds and the rushing waves of the salty sea.

Aku aku lifted his gaze, noticing that his adopted children were gone. With a calm that surpassed mere placidity, he went in search of them. Cortex would surface soon enough. For now he had to tend to Crash and Coco, and that was duty enough. He caught a glimpse of the figure passing by before he saw the male bandicoot staring in bewilderment. "Crash." The witch doctor stated firmly, his attention now fixed on the fleeting white ghost. "What was that?" He knew that the bandicoot would not answer, indeed, but was talking to himself instead, hoping that he had not witnessed something of Cortex's doing.

"Come back Pura! Polar!" With arms outstretched, Coco tracked the two frolicking cubs down, her eyes directed ahead. She did not see the white presence until she was almost upon It, her body slamming into It with a considerable force. The wind was knocked out of her and her lips parted in a gasp as she dropped to the ground, tumbling head over heels a couple of times before stopping a few feet away, facedown, her mouth gulping in insect filled soil. With a cry of disgust she spat, pushing herself up, bending her elbows and lifting leg to place a knee firmly on the ground. An emerald eye flicked up and another gasp floated on the still air. A pale girl laid on her side just a yard or so away, completely naked, brunette hair in tangles about the oval face, her thin and battered body curled up in fetal position. The marsupial stood, dusted herself off, and took a few cautious steps toward It, mouth slack, eyes wide as she took in the scene. "Hello?" She stuttered weakly, unable to find her voice momentarily.

The other female responded in a grunt, her eyes still screwed firmly shut, lashes brushing the prominent cheeks. The skeletal frame convulsed, arms twitching helplessly as the girl whimpered. "No…no…." The full lips parted in a frightened murmur.

"It's O.K." Coco assured the humanoid lying before her, crouching in position beside the white body. One of her hands curiously found itself trapped in mangled strands of hair. "Let's get you back to my house. Aku Aku will know what to do…." She spoke more so to herself than to the other girl.

"Mmmmm…." The blue eyes popped open, tracing Coco's features as It sat upright. With a movement as quick as lightening, It detangled Coco's hand from Its hair, an alarmed expression hardening Its face. With a harsh tone, It spoke. "Get…get away from me!" Using Its hands, It scooted a few inches back from the bandicoot, keeping Its eyes trained on the talking marsupial. For the first time, It lifted Its head to a degree so that the patches of dried blood could be seen splattered on Its chin and mouth.

Coco gasped at the realization. "You're hurt."

"No." It shook Its head in reply, fisting the ground nervously, dirt caking under Its yellow fingernails. The ends of the nails were split horribly, torn and weathered by time.

"You're bleeding." The other protested, trying to inch closer without scaring the human girl. A softness in her voice kept It in place, this time making no moves to hastily flee.

With a hum, the figure replied. "I ate."

Coco looked appalled, her emerald eyes widening to their fullest. Then she spoke with utmost concern. "We'll get you something good to eat. We'll get you some clothes."

It had not thought about clothing in a long time, living freely, cloaked by the shadows of the world. Its skin had adapted to both extremities of heat and cold, Its feet toughened by slapping over rock and thorn. The camera had stopped as soon as the impact had knocked It to the ground, the last word ringing in Its ears. "Please…." That's what the figure had said. "Please." Finding Coco's reasoning to be plausible, It nodded, "Clothes." It spoke gently, almost in interrogative format. "Clothing?"

"Yes, clothing."

After debating the possibilities It had, It stood up and extended a hand toward the bandicoot. A new smile graced Its parched lips, a flake of dried blood drifting to the ground as It did so. Coco lifted her head, one of her arms reaching upward, her hand fitting into Its nicely, perfectly. It was in this moment that It found another sense of innocence, another path filled with compassion. Perhaps It would be received here. Perhaps not. But nevertheless….

Perhaps.

One moment she was present and in the next she was gone from the watch of the eyepiece. N.Gin hadn't witnessed her departure, but had fallen asleep carelessly to soothe his sore head. His flop of fiery red hair brushed the metal table he rested his upper half upon, hands curled neatly under his chin, elbows extended in both directions. Because he was so short, his petite legs left his feet dangling inches from the gray floor. His headache had worsened after he wept, almost to something fierce and unbearable. The excruciating pain forced him into a restless slumber, thoughts of her still recurring in his brain, bringing the throbbing into his unconscious state. There in the dreamlike state, the suffering was dulled even if just a trifle. One of his fingers twitched involuntarily into a puddle of slaver that had trickled from his somewhat slack lips.

"N.Gin…" Something pressed hard against his shoulder. He felt himself floating upward, swimming back into consciousness. Nitro struggled to stay asleep for better benefit, afraid of the consequences of waking up and facing reality. She would not be coming back to him. Ever. Three years ago he had signed her over to Cortex for the doctor's experimental pleasures and she had left him with a myriad of scars. Her very being was corrupted by countless tests and her introduction to chemical therapy. She would never reemerge from her years spent in isolation. But she would always be his. No matter what happened, she would belong to him. "N.Gin!" His shoulder rocked again, this time sending a burning sensation up his arm, touching lightly his neck and shooting back down again. "Wake up, fool!"

Hesitantly, the physicist rose and stared into the eyes of Cortex sleepily, the light from the overhead fixtures blinding him instantly. While giving his sight a moment to return he sighed. "What is it, doctor?" First the big N that was stamped onto his boss' forehead appeared, followed by a thick brow, eyes, lips….

"You said that you'd have her location pinpointed within' the hour." Came the impatient reply, the sound of fingers drumming metal overwhelming in the hollow quiet of the lab room. "It's been twice that already. I expect that you have successfully found her?" It was a question that Nitro had no intention of answering with truth, but he secretly feared Cortex's wrath, knowing how angry the scientist could become if provoked.

"Yes, Dr. Cortex." The vision was back, 100 percent, and his gaze drifted to the bright green screen over the bleeping panel of buttons. "She was just there, resting about four miles inward. I had the camera directed on her." His heart leapt in joy as he realized that she had moved again and that her face was not present on the display. "She's gone now." He mentioned, and Cortex followed his gaze. Nitro didn't know whether to rejoice or to cower in fear.

Neo pounded his fist onto the table, jolting N.Gin upright. "Idiot! You were supposed to be watching for her!" He slowly rose to his feet, narrowed eyes on his colleague.

The chair that seated Nitro toppled over and the physicist spilled onto the floor, his missile slamming the metal with sickening force. Tears sprang into the shorter man's eyes at the impact. N.Gin fought to regain his footing, but Cortex had already flown around the table and was staring down at him like a hungry hawk eyeing its prey. A booted foot connected with the missile and another wave of pain sparked into Nitro's head, this time erupting a shocked howl from his mouth. The foot slammed down upon him again, so fast that the physicist had no time to react. His head was now shattering in sweltering liquid hot agony, and the sound that burst from him this time came feebly.

"Please….no more….stop……" The hoarse voice choked, metallic twinge tremulous.

The blows ceased and N.Gin opened up his eyes, his vision dark for a moment in the right side. Neo huffed in aggravation and agitation. "I gave you clear orders….."

"Yes doctor."

"And I expected them to be followed as planned."

"I understand doctor, but…"

"You have failed me again N.Gin."

"I know." N.Gin picked himself up to look eye to eye with Cortex, his face red, flustered. "I give you my sincerest apologies."

The other scientist's breaths came out less strained as his temper calmed, flattened out. Finally the eyes focused and Neo folded his arms against his thin chest, apparently still upset but not as angry as before. He scrunched up his face in disapproval. "Apologies accepted under one condition."

N.Gin fidgeted, his hands wringing themselves again and again in an unending cycle. "Yes? What conditions, doctor?"

"You'll find her again and not lose her, and then…"

N.Gin gulped.

Cortex's lips lifted in an evil, malicious smile. He pointed to his friend with a stiff rigidity. "You'll go with my team to capture her yourself. She'll listen to you more, and perhaps you'll be bale to coerce her into our hands without the situation ending in a struggle."

"No!" Nitro shook his head in disbelief of Cortex's command. A hand flew up to his temple, massaging it roughly, the fingers taught with stress. "You can't…you wouldn't!"

Neo disregarded the protest, adding, "And see if you can find some certain marsupial nuisance in the process"  
"Crash Bandicoot…" N.Gin mused, still in denial that his friend would ask such a favour of him.

"Exactly. Now be a good boy and run along. Find her ASAP. I expect no mistakes this time." The doctor crossed the distance to the open door.

"But Cortex!"

"Have fun." The door slammed in the undersized man's face as he worked his hands, his head clearing of the shade that had advanced over it. Truth wandered in and wrenched his heart in its authoritative grasp, twisting and revolving until N.Gin could stand it no more. The pulsating halted its annoyance and he was liberated again, but his face was soaked in the sweat of emotional pressure. She would have to fall into his hands again, for all of the wrong reasons. He wanted to hold her close to his bosom, caress her strikingly angelic face, and murmur a million secrets in her ear, all while securing her in his heart, never to let her fly away from that one confinement. She would melt into him, converge with his subsistence, drink of him eternally in freedom. Only she could satiate his thirst and allow him to breathe in contentment. He would in turn protect her, like a heaven for the heart, concealing the revelation, turning back the vindictive hands of time that had murdered her ability to survive in peace.

Together they would escape the demon of this partition.

Together they would.

Together… 


	3. Turbulence

Chapter 3: Turbulence

Upon arriving at the strapping cabin, Coco noticed that the animal cubs had sniffed their way back home, beating the bandicoot somehow in an unofficial race. Buoyant with deserved relief, she called a welcoming "hello" to signal her arrival and led the mysterious girl into the humble abode, her bright green eyes wandering back to the other female. The strange human's face seemed stringent, lacking emotion. Neither Aku Aku or Crash were present, and this heaped concern on Coco, as the other members of the household were usually never far from the front door. Pushing a million possibilities aside, one of the female marsupial's tiny hands lashed out to turn the knob, securing their way into her private room, the human cautiously taking the steps leading inside, glass eyes alive with wonder. "And this is my room. You'll have to wait a few minutes, but I'm pretty sure that I've got a suit of clothes that will fit you. I'll go get them for you." As Coco opened the closet door with a click, It peered around Its new surroundings. The walls were alight with a pink glow, purple flowers, their petals spread, awaiting the sun, plastered to the colour like polka dots, waiting for their viewer to breathe in an air of awe. There were a scarce amount of framed photos dangling loosely from brass hooks, one swallowing the figure of another like herself, a human with fluffs of light brown topping its squared head, shaping into a puckered brow, gracefully falling lightly toward the slope of a lip line. Another that hung to the far right adjacent to the previous picture, this one clearly featuring the bandicoot herself, and the frolicking baby tiger cub. Coco was perched atop the tiger's back, her face breaking into the sweetest of grins, her hands stroking the animal's head with a tender loving care. The last frame was the most interesting, the outer portion itself decorated in ancient Indian patters, hand carved and painted with deep red mud, touched up a bit with fool's gold bits that glittered like the million stars that reigned in the heaven's on a plain night backdrop. Where the frame was magnificent, the print lacked in splendor, only illuminating a smoky gray plane that enveloped a yellow shooting star. It sniffed at the simplistic art piece, one hand rising to meet Its forehead, smearing the dirt from Its hair onto Its brow. "Here you go. Will that do for now?" The bandicoot held up a burgundy stained short dress, the bottom pleated and the shoulders bubbled up top. A white ribbon was sewn into the back, strung around the torso like strand of loose DNA that writhed, alive, under a scientist's microscope. It nodded in thanks and accepted the clothing, measuring the suit up with Its eye before attempting to put it on, smoothing the wrinkles out over Its slender waist. Clasping her hands together, Coco exclaimed that it was a perfect fit, and that It looked strikingly divine on the girl's starved figure.

"You really think so?" Came the small voice in a timid reply, pale hands fidgeting, fighting to tie the ribbon into the ideal bow. The translucent eyes found their home in Coco's, and a brief smile flickered on the girl's lips, which cracked into rivers of blood. They were so dry, the skin desiccated and utterly dehydrated from lack of drink. "I wonder if he'd like it..." The statement took even its owner by surprise, and the ending was clipped short, but still drawn out enough to spark the bandicoot's curiosity.

Hands folded in a playful yet devilish gesture as Coco grinned evilly, her voice soupy with honey, "And who is this 'he' that you speak of? A boyfriend maybe?" Short spouts of giggles threatened to boil over into the conversation, but Coco managed, with a fair amount of effort, to hold them back.

It shook Its head, hands dropping now into normal positioning, feet crossing with delicacy. "I…don't know…." Sad, soft words charged the space, and the bandicoot's face fell with the stark realization, fingers retracting, eyes moistening.

"You don't remember him, do you…" It was a statement of clarity, not an inquiry, as one would expect. A hint of bitter resentment filled her throat and made itself known with the next line. "I shouldn't have brought it up." A hand reassured the human, resting lightly on the forearm, warmth pouring from the touch. "I'm sorry." Eyes closed, head bowed, Coco breathed in deeply, inhaling the fresh crisp air that the sun had prepared for the day. The human stood silently, reverently, respecting the other's apologies before moving on.

"Yes and no. I do recall the fact that he was such a massive part of my life, and I cared for him beyond words, but….there is no face, no name…." What was the word he had said….please? Its head snapped up quickly, jarring the bandicoot's arm from hers as her thin figure spun around, almost jumping in excitement. That voice! Oh, what a unique asset, a key to unravel the dark cloud of mystery that kept her conscious locked in the unforgiving darkness. "The way….he speaks……" It was all flooding back into It so fast that It could barely contain it all, body possessed with a fit of convulsions.

Coco was taken aback, "Huh? What? What is it?" She was poised in a hilarious stand, arms unbalanced, fingers rigid, mouth wide open.  
The human only beamed brighter as the scorching sun beat down on Its lifted spirits, the happiest It had been in such a horrendous amount of time. Had it really been forever? It seemed longer, grueling, as It trudged through separate dimensions of Its mentality, careening down the ravines and grooves, sculpting out a niche in Itself, for Itself. The voice. THAT voice. With "please" as Its guide, the human girl began a tiresome expedition for truth, one that had been stripped from her against her will. Why wasn't she allowed to remember? What had she lost in that chasm of years that was so crucial to her? "Please." It said aloud, eyes focusing on something distant and uncertain. "Please."

Snap! Snap snap snap snap ! Delirious with a nameless disease, the wiry chemist continued to callously destroy countless vials of peculiar, steaming liquids, their substances painting the ground with a rainbow of colour. A white mist encircled the small lab area, stinging at the scientist's eyes, and he proceeded to gouge one of them out with a bit of sharp debris, the brown irises sinking into crimson pools, darkening the scope, drowning a left cheek in its wake. It erupted from him like a livid volcano spewing forth gallons of liquid fire, the lava licking up charred rock. The glass piece that he clutched was lodged into the cavity, protruding out at an odd angle, barely visible in the foggy room. One hand wildly slammed into another row of bottles, empty ones this time, knocking them into a flurry of shards before each miniscule sliver hit the floor. The razor edged fragments bit into the flesh of his unsheathed feet, daubing bright ruby stains across the marbled ground, a vivid comparison.

The small child huddled in the corner, under one of the metal tables head buried in between the knees that were hugged up tightly by tiny hands. Her body shook once, twice…soft mewling escaping ever so often as the carnage unfolded before her soft chocolate eyes. "D-d-d-Daddy!" Came the dreadful scream, her voice choked back in the awful commotion. "P-p-p-please stop!" The humidity of white greatly hampered her ability to breath and her vision would be disabled shortly from the exposure to the harsh chemicals. In her mind she tried to comprehend the matter, but her childlike temperament murdered her ability to fathom such concepts. She steadied herself with a trembling hand, pressing an open palm on the chilly surface, up righting her posture as her father whirled about in whimsical fashion, blood trailing his every step, sliding down his face from the empty hole bored into his head. 'There used to be an eye there…and it looked like MINE!' Young Princia Brio whimpered again in disbelief. The puppet that used to be her father edged closer to her, dancing with psychosis, bent on bringing down the world he'd worked so hard to forge for himself and for his family as well. The child shrieked as one of Nitrus's crimson soaked feet brushed her calf, tainting it with the sticky fuel of life. Horrified, the girl frantically moved a hand to wipe away the stuff, was caught by the swift movement of Brio's step, forcing her to stretch out on the glass covered floor, the shivers tickling her stomach. Her shirt had pushed itself up and knotted around her tiny neck as she slid forward, so that she was exposed to the peril of being cut by the wreckage. "Hey!" Her facial features twisted in pain as her father's waltz picked her up and scraped her body across the sea of glistening spikes, thousands of points delving into the tender belly, rupturing the smooth skin. Her own blood oozed from the wounds as she wept, mingling in with that of her father's, two bitter sweetly reunited into one flesh, a bond beyond the world of the sane and of the living, a covenant of ghastly propositions. "You-you-you're hurting m-m-me!" Her protest fell on closed ears, hardened by stones of an alien origin. Nitrus jostled his daughter about the lab, all the while, the precious girl struggled to escape, only to be felled again. The fog thickened, bringing with it a repugnant odor, and the metallic smell of blood mixed with it, the perfume of incoming death, a bell tolling in the far distance. It's siren would come to claim them shortly.

He pranced around, carrying his offspring with him, her torso mangled with blood, strips of skin dangling loosely from her underside, flesh torn asunder by the incalculable scraps of glass that littered the lab. Her hoarse pleas did not register to him, his mind completely gone, dark, unoccupied. He was listening to the softer music, his feet obeying of their own accord, swaying in rhythm. For a moment he thought that he heard the song of an angel, but that, too, was nothing but a false alarm. In the talking waters he swam, under the dead bodies of the decaying, through the seven rings of fire, a circus, big top…

"Ahn…uh….St - st - stop!" The agony wrenched the word from her throat in a croak, her face pummeled into the marble, the following crunch a sure sign that her nose had broken. She drank herself, the coppery taste nauseating. Before innocent Princia, daddy's angel, could expel the fetid fluid from her system, N.Brio's death march halted, and his motion allowed a larger shard of glass to impale his girl's right ocular cavity, the fine point only stopping its journey after ripping into the fragile contents of her brain.

"Yes sir, I understand." Cortex spoke into the phone, his knuckled white from gripping the receiver so tightly. Dingodile, Tiny, and Ripper Roo stared on in tense uncertainty, eyes darting back to each other's faces, shoulders shrugging in casual fashion, an occasional cough signaling impatience. The good doctor had occupied the other end of the conversation for nearly half an hour, the only indication he gave of the situation was the overwrought twinge in his usually placid voice. "Uh huh, yes. Yes, I understand." A nod, two nods. "Yes, sir. I'll be there right away. Yes." A long pause and then a final, "Yes sir." Cortex replaced the receiver as if in slow motion, every movement forced, practiced. Before he turned to address his crew of mutated animal brutes, he wiped his sweaty brow with his gloved hands and inhaled deeply enough to cause a fit of dizziness to swim in his head. With a counterfeit smile he explained, "A tragedy has befallen our former comrade and great ally, ingenious chemist, Nitrus Brio. His daughter was pronounced D.O.A. and he himself in critical condition."

"What happen? Tiny want to know!" The tiger growled. Dingodile shot him a narrow eyed glance and adjusted the flamethrower that strapped lightly to his backpack. Ripper Roo seemed disinterested all at once when the news was revealed.

The chemist had a somewhat unstable relationship with Cortex, a dispute once breaching their teamwork contract, allowing N.Gin to take over as Cortex's second in command. The evil scientist courteously accepted his long term colleague into the head positioning over his robotic defense industry field soon after the shorter man's catastrophic accident landed him in the hospital with half a missile protruding from his head. With a cough, Cortex continued, "It has been reported that it was a industrial accident, taking place in Brio's current lab facilities. His daughter was merely watching on as her father strived to perfect a dynamo duo substance-containing compound of both dangerous and miraculous consequences, an oxygen based compound (what with nitrogen as a sub-base) that would prove to be completely edible given the proper amount of time and additions. His work would be able to completely transform time/space matter, compressing it into nearly nonexistent form, and then to manipulate it to move. Invisibility, one would call it these days. The experiment is quite interesting if I may say so myself. It's too bad that Brio miscalculated his chemical mix ups and created such a nasty mess…" The doctor put a hand to his forehead, voice breaking with dreadful concern.

"Poor Brio. What will he say when he learns of Princia's death?" The half crocodile sang softly.

"That is where I come into play." Everyone in the small audience raised their head to meet Cortex's gaze as the doctor cracked a crooked smile and placed his hands behind his back, one foot nervously (or perhaps excitedly) tapping the floor. However, instead of explaining himself, he moved quickly towards the exit, the band of animals leaning forward with anticipation. Even the fanatical Ripper Roo turned his head, finally somewhat focused. The evil scientist emerged into the next room over, the metallic door whirring closed behind him, red lock blinking in place. He would not revisit his army for another half hour, mind solely dedicated to his task, unwilling to let any form of secret seep through. He would tell them about it later. Much much later…

The first thing that he was slightly aware of was the odor, the smell of alcohol and other aromas as well, the signification that he was in a hospital room. 'Oh, God…what's happened…?' His body felt numb, weak, his mouth dry and parched. Inside that canal, his tongue was swollen horrendously. One of his eyes blinked open, the harsh overhead light blasting it with repulsive energy. His other eye… The vision in his right eye was nonexistent, leaving him confused at first, and then trembling with horror. 'Blind. I'm partially blind.' With a cry that sounded like it belonged to a wild animal he popped up, thin arms weary with exhaustion, threatening to send him plummeting back onto the rumpled white sheets. A thin blanket covered the rest of him, from the waist down, doing next to nothing from keeping him warm. An icy chill shocked his spine, and his single eye closed, sight shut out into darkness. For the first time he was aware of a throbbing pain in his feet, like knifes slicing them through and through, managing to hit all of the most fragile spots. An internal pain rocked his head as well, and he carefully rested against the mattress again, the back of his skull sinking into the too spongy pillow. With quivering hands, he pulled the blanket up to his chin and remained still for fear of being noticed by one of the staff. For once he needed time to think things through, to swim around all of the obstacles blocking his mentality, to weed out the impossible possibilities that landed him in such a dreaded place. 'What happened?' Lips opened a bit, he breathed raggedly through his mouth, for the whiffs of the hospital were too much for his sensitive nostrils. 'I was working in my lab. Compressing space/time matter, making it dissolve…I drank the potion and she seemed excited….she….' A spark of panic stunned him, and his breathing stopped momentarily as the information sank in, the Titanic evanescing under the dark waves… "P-P-P-Princia? Darling angel?" It came out in a raucous whine. There was the sound of footsteps, rushed, hasty. N.Brio was aware of the other person's presence, and whoever it was, they were leaning over him, their face so close that he could feel their pants on his own. A hint of chocolate wafted in on each puff. Chocolate?

"Oh dear. He's awakened!" Sounded the accented voice that fit the tall, willowy figure of N.Tropy, master of time and era. From what Brio could make out, N.Tropy seemed to be lamenting, his voice syrupy with tears. A quick look at the blue-tinted man's face confirmed his suspicions. Doctor Nefarious Tropy was a manipulator of time, Uka Uka's personal assistant, and like a father to Princia. Tropy had cared for little Princia during the earlier years of her life, while N.Brio was busy touring the planet on Hydro-Genetic Conventions, one of the scientist's chief projects. The girl was born with Tropy as the father, and he was the first to embrace her, touch her. Princia's mother had died during childbirth due to complications, and so N.Tropy raised her unaccompanied until Brio had returned a year and half ago with no idea that his late friend had given birth to a child. For many reasons, including this one, Princia always considered Nefarious to be her "realer daddy". N.Tropy now stood by Brio's side, never parting with Princia for a moment's time, vowing to help the young chemist train her up in the proper manner. He was by Brio's bedside even now. "Nitrus? Can you speak to me?" He asked hesitantly, one of the brown-gloved hands fingering the clock piece on his suit.

Still a bit hysterical, Brio answered, "Yes. Where is m-m-my Princia?" He expected her to come leaping through the open door at the opposite end of the room, concerned about her daddy and all smiles and giggles, worried but young, alive. The single brown eye rolled over the room, the light washing it, Brio focusing on the two leather brown chairs and the beeping heart monitor. Where was his precious little girl? She should have been with Nefarious, as he was wary of letting anyone else care for her in such dire situations. "Is she with you, Nefarious? Don't tell me you let Doc-doc-doctor Cortex watch her! If you did…"

"She's dead, Nitrus." Came the shocking truth. Water stung at N.Tropy's eyes, his face serious but malleable, wrecked with the circumstances. The hour hand revolved in a complete circle five times before the other man could react.

He had known that it was the case, but actually hearing the words rip from someone else's mouth helped to drive it into reality; beforehand it seemed surreal, fake. The expression on Nefarious's face made the impact even more agonizing and an abject scream ejected itself from his lips. One word echoed from his mouth, "How?"

Cringing at the sound of Brio's devastation, the taller man could contain himself no longer, and tears cascaded down his cheeks, unable to answer his comrade's plea for a response. His hands curled up into fists, one beating the glass encasing of the clock on his chest. With an indescribable noise, he lamented, his voice strained and weary from the mourning beforehand. Princia was gone. Forever. His Princia, THEIR Princia. Her name would swell within them but produce no results. She was no longer the bundle of yawns that he had held up seven years ago, still teeming with new life, tiny hands weaving before him this future that would be snuffed short. Her fluffy brown eyes had worshiped him in that moment, and for the first time he realized what it meant to love and to be loved. His heart had beat for only her and her happiness. Now it had no reason to sustain its constant motion in with the ticking of time. Oh, time! With as much passion as he had to adore its vast power, he now loathed its cruelty and its mercilessness. Time, in its everlasting omnipotence, had decided on the outcome of each and every being, their fate and purpose. It snatched up the lives of the innocent along with the wicked. Princia was just a puppet played by its amusement, a toy for its growing fancies and unending hunger for blood. With a long sob, Nefarious beat on the symbol, fingers desperately turning the hand counterclockwise in an attempt to reverse fate.

Tick tock…tick tock….tick…tock….

All four of them gathered around the round, wooden table in the dining area, Coco and the new human occupant seated at the far right slope, Aku Aku and Crash claiming the end facing them, the two guys listening as the female bandicoot explained in great detail, "…and so I led her back here, took her to my room, and let her borrow a suit of clothes. She told me before that she was hungry so I went into the pantry and got her a wumpa fruit. While she ate I said that she could stay with us for a while and then you all came back and that's what I was gonna ask you." The human girl nodded, assuring the witch doctor that Coco spoke the truth, pale hands fiddling with the white ribbon that looped around Its waistline. With Coco's help, It had made Itself look presentable, Its skin now washed and dried, Its hair neatly combed, braided, a flower tucked expertly behind Its ear. The dandelion's bright petals contrasted with the deep, rich tones of Its locks, Its skin glowing and vibrant, and the eyes now swimming in verve. With a dainty sweep of Its arm It waved to Aku Aku.

"I hope it is alright if I accompany you for awhile. I understand if it isn't. It's just that, I have no place to go. They're still bent on bringing me down. If only I could find him again. Then I could leave you and be at peace." Its sentences were well spoken, Its voice angelic, surrealistic, and simply divine. Aku Aku pondered the choice of having the human around in the hut. The aura of evil still plagued him and the possibility of this human girl being a trap set up by Cortex was a great possibility. Still, it was a risk that he was willing to take. If the girl was troubled, and he had shunned her, the guilt would stick him like pins and needles for the rest of his existence.

With a nod, he decided, "You may reside with us until you have found he that you are searching for." An eyebrow rose, "You do know of whom you speak?"

A sigh escaped the fragile human female, "No. I'm afraid. I don't remember him very well." Its hands rested lightly on the wooden tabletop, folded in each other, the fingers curled and slender. A tremble touched Its thick lips, and Coco put a hand on Its shoulder to comfort It.

"She does remember a bit, though. She said that there was something odd about the way he speaks." The bandicoot relayed what It had told her before. It had said something of the sort, and even now, It bobbed Its head in recognition.

"Yes. He speaks in a peculiar fashion that I've never heard anyone mimic before." Its eyes closed, as if It were remembering something from the distant past, a time that the others could not see or feel. Its hands relaxed, the fingers drifting apart as It spoke again, "He would always talk to me and he would sing to me too, sometimes, always sheltering me. It was as if…as if he fell from Heaven itself, but that couldn't be possible…for Heaven is quite a ways away. It would hurt someone to fall that far." It shook Its head thoughtfully, one hand coming up to rub Its bony chin. Crash looked on in sheer amusement, not fully understanding what was going on, but his head dipped up and down in short nods, making him at least look halfway intelligent about such matters. Simple Crash, what, with his brain floating amongst the fluffy clouds and singing foul of the air, was envied by many and scorned by more than many. Coco heaved a shaky sigh at the sight of him there, just a space filler. She'd much rather that he be frolicking around in the outdoor sun and not meddle in situations that soared over his furry head. Aku Aku, too, noticed Coco's frustration and waved Crash off politely, the male bandicoot concurring with his master's decision. He bolted for the door, green eyes alight with wonder, feet dancing with elation as he cracked open the barrier to the outdoors.

Coco glanced at It again, hand now retrieved from the shoulder and patting the wooden table. "You'll have to excuse my brother. He's a bit shy when it comes to meeting new people. And he's a complete airhead as well, preferring a nap to genuine work." She gave a slight indication to her prized laptop that was opened up on the floor in the next room over. The bandicoot had always admitted herself as a workaholic, seldom taking a break from her computer hacking save for time to eat, sleep, and other technicalities of life. With a grin she added. "If it's someone nearby that you are looking for, perhaps I can be of help. The network connects everyone's computer to a general server, and with a bit of hacking I may be able to access data, allowing you to view others with computers like mine, or more. It'll take a bit of weeding through, but…" Her shoulders rose and fell.

It swayed Its head from side to side again, this time focusing singularly on Coco, "It would be too much trouble for you to…"

"Nonsense!" The mask interrupted. "Coco dedicates her entire life to hacking. If it is indeed someone nearby that you are looking for, or if someone is looking for you, Coco is the prime candidate to unveil any of his or her plans and locations. I highly recommend that you acquire her help. It'll be fun for her as well, so there won't be any form of trouble." The witch doctor yawned, eyes turned toward the exit. A nearby window framed a picture of serenity, capturing the undulating ocean waves and Crash sleeping on the sandy shore, his arms spread askew, tongue once again spilling from his open mouth. "Well." Aku announced with another yawn. "I'll take up on Crash's idea to indulge myself in sleep. Be careful, girls, and you….oh, excuse me…I don't think that I ever got your name." Coco's brow rose. In all of the commotion, she hadn't thought of asking the stranger her name, either, and now her inquisitive nature was peaked.

It took a moment to answer, then hesitantly replied. "Heaven. Call me Heaven, please." Her voice had a tint of earnest desperation.

"Yes, if you wish…Heaven." Aku Aku smiled warmly, red lips parting slightly as he did so. Before following Crash's pursuit of tranquility, he added. "Heaven. Such an angelic name…"

Heaven beamed at her new alias, translucent eyes chasing the mask, tailing him as he flew out of the house into that same picture. She was trapped again, inside, her own voice echoing in droplets that rippled the dark waters of her soul. The hut was her mind, the window symbolical of that which she could not yet reach, but continued to strive to do so. The scene that unfolded beyond it was Heaven…herself, all the things that she had missed, even though she had played a part in them before. The concept of that past reality was so far, so far out of her reach…Unconsciously she raised a white hand, stretching it forward with all of her might, fingers spread as far apart as she could make them, pretending that it was only the seat that held her down in the coldness. But Heaven knew that it was so much more, so much more.

In order to break across the goal, back into herself, she would first have to escape from herself, and that alone in itself was the most difficult task. The mind has a tendency to hold on to the present things, sometimes letting that which was important to slip from view, into the sky. She could part those cumulative clouds and silence the storm in herself. Nothing was too far, even if she had to fall first.

Troubles were snowballing down the ice-glazed mountains and into the open mind of a lone mechanical genius. Thus begins the tragedy of Dr. Nitro Gin…

He bowed to the mirror, mentally critiquing his image in the reflecting glass. Ugly, check. Hideous, check. Twisted, mutated, GROTESQUE freak of nature, check. Internally weeping, he sulked into the nearest bathroom stall and stared into the calm toilet water that cupped into the white bowl. He knew that if he flushed it, the sound would ruin his sensitive ears, exploding into another migraine headache that'd last him a lifetime. But the clement pulsating in his lower abdomen cried for respite and he finally succumbed to its calling, unzipped his pants and relived himself of the pressure. After he had done his business, he gazed into the toilet again, the face that peered back at him alien, not himself. The physicist sometimes wondered if he had been mistakenly placed within the wrong body, if he wasn't really meant to be such an eyesore. Perhaps some other lucky lad had stolen from him a bronzed complexion, a dazzling straight smile, a masculine jawbone, and a few burnished locks of bleached blonde hair. Something in the back of his head told him that he was actually destined to be fit into a 170 pound hard body complete with a six pack, thick, toned legs, and a chest full of hazel nut hair. The toilet still held his contents and one of his fingers curled onto the knob. One push and it would flush. One push. His head throbbed with the mere thought of the rushing sound it would emit. It was one of the clatters that he despised most, driving him to the point that he wouldn't use the bathroom for days on end. N.Gin screwed his eyes shut, the finger slamming down, the water in the bowl circulating without delay on his command. With a startled cry, Nitro turned and ran from the restroom at the quickest speed he could direct on himself, not caring less if he didn't wash his hands afterward. The most imperative thing to do was to save his head, and that was all.

He flattened his back against the hall wall after he had escaped, taking a few minutes to catch his breath, which spouted from him in little noisy gasps. It was recurrent, arising everyday or every other day, depending on his needs. He constantly ran, even from problems as miniscule and insignificant as this. One gloved hand tightly clutched his chest. N.Gin was only slightly aware of the fact that Ripper Roo was almost upon him, his uncanny eyes studying the wheezing doctor. With a bounce, the jumpy kangaroo pronounced is arrival with a series of laughs that meant nothing to the untrained ear.

"Heh hee hee hee haw, eh he heh heeeee. Heee, ha ha ha ha ha heh heh heee ha!" He spun madly around, feet thumping the floor, tongue flapping from his chops that dripped oily saliva.

Nitro gasped, then, realizing that it was only Ripper Roo, calmed himself and answered hastily. "I don't quite understand. What do you mean she's gone?" He scratched his fiery mop of hair, mouth working mechanically to answer Roo's statement.

With a huff, the demented marsupial tried again, this time a different procession of howls escaping him as he bounced about. "Ha ha ha eh heh heh heeee hee he heeeeh eh eh eh heee he haw haw haha ha ha!"

"What? DEAD! No, that's…that's impossible! It can't be. How? What….what happened?" He inquired of the animal, but Roo just shrugged and pressed on down the hallway, apparently in a hurry. The news was almost unbearable. A headache had already wormed it's way out, the beginnings of it building up pressure in his temple as he massaged the side of his head with a steady hand, working out the situation in his mind before a solitary tear coursed its way down his cheek. Little Princia…dead? "No…it's not true…" N.Gin tried to assure himself, although he had a striking premonition that what Roo had relayed to him was information from Cortex. Though the evil doctor may be more than a little twisted, he would never lie about such a thing as his precious niece. The physicist rocked his body hard against the wall, a moan flying free of his slightly agape mouth, the hand still working to rid himself of the pain that incubated inside his skull. "Oh, god…. No.. Can't be…."

She had visited the other day, arriving in his lab via N.Tropy's shoulder, her face aglow with a smile, sweet voice difficultly exclaiming "L-l-l-look, unc-c-cle N.Gin! D-d-d-daddy bought-t-t me a r-r-r-real rob-b-b-bot! It-it-its just lik-k-ke yours, t-t-too!" Her tiny hands had clutched onto a scaled down version of N.Gin's latest technology, the Iron Maiden, a steel humanoid machine with self launched missile projectiles, four jet engines, and protractible and retractable blades extending from the arm bases. Pricia had set it on the ground after leaping from her "daddy Tropy's" shoulders, and had set it off, the small mechanisms whirring and clicking, the robot's arms unleashing their weaponry. N.Gin had beamed approval on the tike's interest in robotics, and had entertained her for nearly five hours that day with jokes, games, and a movie. She nearly watched him the whole night while N.Tropy left her in his comrade's care, her chocolate eyes penetrating him, as if they were staring into him instead of seeing his surface. Just before Tropy came to pick her up again, she had said one very important thing. With intense honesty she spoke, her hands playing with N.Gin's red strands of hair. "N-n-n-gin. I…." She stopped a moment, making sure that she had her uncle's undivided attention. "I-I-I think th-th-that you are th-th-the most beut-t-t-t-ifulest-t person I-I-I ever s-s-seen." He remembered the wet hot that sprung into his eyes as she told him this, the moonlight fading in from cool to warmth, a floating breeze carrying in the sounds of howling rain. Princia's brown eyes stayed on him for the rest of the night, that last night that he'd ever get to see her again, her last words being, "I love you, uncle N.Gin." Without the speech impediment she had said it, plainly. She did not stutter once in that sentence as she was hoisted up onto her "realer daddy's" back and taken from the room the same way that she had come. The scientist was left in solitude again, but this time there were words to comfort him.

And even now, with his eyes wet in grief, he gleaned a shelter in those words. "I think that you are the most beautiful person I ever seen." He mimicked her voice, minus the stutter, the phrase sounding childish as it reverberated in the hallway. Another stream of tears broke down his face as he spoke again, this time in reply to the other sentence he had sang. "And Princia, I think you have the voice of an angel. And I love you too." Sniffling he moped the rest of the way to his lab, opened the door and entered, a chilly air hitting him, making him shiver. He wrapped his arms around himself, shielding himself from the blast as he moved in to close the window. Dusk was rushing in, painting the outside sky a radiant shade of purple, deep hues screaming eggplant, along with streaks of neon pink and a touch of cloudy blue. In the near distance, N.Gin was positive that he spotted rain clouds, gray and pregnant, ushering in on the ever-changing easel. Nothing would bar the raging tempest that was to come, its turbulence frightening, appalling beyond measure. Some of that force was already evident, impacting in less conspicuous ways, as it was in the escape of her, and in the tragic death of an innocent. In a way, he himself had died even more, and also had accepted the invitation to live. The clouds were closer, moving in on the islands at a fixed pace. She was still alive, and he would have to find her and bring her back into this hellish experience. They came closer, closer… The child was lifeless, innocence stripped by consequence and there was nothing he could do about it. They rolled in closer, still closer. What was to happen next? As soon as the worse was over, N.Gin was sure that there would be nothing left, not even the tender cry of an angel.

Her backpack slung haphazardly over one arm, Nina Cortex, beloved niece of Neo Cortex, skipped happily away from the school grounds, weaving through the other students that milled the park area. It wouldn't be long until she'd be free of that educational confinement and ready to roam the real world. According to her calendar, there were but four days left of the school year and then a whole three months of exciting and daring adventures upon the island lands. During class when the teacher was spouting off another boring lecture, she had conjured up a plan and had secretly written it down on a piece of paper, tricking the foolhardy instructor into thinking that Nina was jotting down notes. Her spring loaded, steel hands clapped together as her communicator beeped, signaling an incoming call. She unzipped the pocket on her pack, stopping just long enough to pull out the receiver and click the huge, red button on the side that allowed her to speak one on one with the caller. A bright green 7707707 flashed on the back LCD dial, indicating that her uncle was on the other end. A session of clicks began and she listened with opened ears as he spelled out the message. : H O W W A S S C H O O L : She hastily flipped the buttons in a rapid procession, marking out her answer. : B O R I N G (pause) I M R E A D Y 4 I T T O E N D : She waited patiently until the next sequence stopped with : G O O D (pause) I T A K E I T T H A T Y O U W I L L A C C E P T A N O F F E R T O C O M E H O M E E A R L Y : Nina's face showed puzzlement, then anxiousness pleated with anticipation. She typed out : S U R E W H Y N O T : Her uncle's reply came next : I L L P I C K Y O U U P T O D A Y (pause) I L L E X P L A I N T O Y O U L A T E R (pause) T E L L Y O U R T E A C H E R : Her uncle exited communication mode after his niece gave him the okay signal. With a new air about her, she skipped back into the school to notify her teacher that she would not be returning for the rest of the year.

Cortex placed the communicator in his pocket, his gaze turning toward the open window, his thoughts on his adored niece. How long had it been since he had seen her? More than a year, he knew that. His relationship with Nina was a pleasant one, even after the fact that he had to make a few modifications to enhance her physical abilities AND sent her to the Academy of Evil because she was inclined to be kindhearted. Nina Cortex, the very essence of innocence and loveliness, with her gothic appeal and cutesy over bite, admired her uncle, looking up to him in every aspect and manner. Cortex sighed, hands tucked behind him now in formal fashion, teeth gritted together in his usual expression of thoughtfulness. It wouldn't be long before his blimp would arrive at the academy grounds and she would leap into his arms again. With a smile of satisfaction he gave off a slight chuckle before maneuvering his aircraft in the predestined direction to the schooling facilities. What would he say to her? His fingers cringed, cramped up. "I'll explain the situation. She'll understand, if anyone will." In his mind he held fond memories of Princia Brio as well, though he lacked care or interest for her biological father. The Brio girl had struck him as a strong willed child, with every intent on living her pampered life to its fullest, no matter what the cost. He would see to it that she would do exactly that. It would only be a matter of time. A matter of time before he could see Nina, before he could play God, before he could erase the one thing from this world that annoyed him so, and before she would fall into his grasp and complete the components he needed for world domination. It would only be a matter of time. 


	4. Ressurrection

Chapter 4: Resurrection

Princia Brio stirred in her fitful slumber, arms flailing with choppy motions, wavering in on the blue scenery, a tint of fantasy creasing her brow as her chocolate brown eyes slid open under the luminosity cutting through her lifeless body. She was aware of certain feelings, numbness covered most of her, blocking out detail, blurring reality in with fiction. "D-d-daddy!" She could hear her own voice, but wasn't quite sure if she had actually spoken. Struggling against some unseen force, she pleaded, "Help m-m-me, D-d-dad-d-dy!" A hand formed over her vision, her face obscured by the flesh, nostrils flaring in fear as the scent of death slaughtered her sensibility and she thrashed wildly in the air.

"Hush, child!" A saintly voice scolded as the hand continued to smother little Brio's thin face. Heaven's head appeared in the midst of the girl's mind and Princia screamed in the realization, her limbs stiffening painfully against her sides.

"Y-y-you!" Came the startled wail, fingers straightening out against the cool of her bare skin, the warm hand burning into her expressionless face. "No! n-n-n-no no no no noooooooo!" Her high-pitched screech compelled Heaven to pull her hand from the girl in attempt to block out the loud screaming.

"SHUT UP!" Brown locks swinging furiously, Heaven shook her own head, willing the image out of her mind, her fingers jammed into her ear canals, the sound of rushing water filling them as the child's body transformed into a bloated corpse, green slime oozing from the decaying wounds on the stomach. "Go away! Go away! PLEASE!" The empty eye socket held the mysterious presence at bay, a bit of brain seeping out of the deep and onto the cheek, a slick strand of the pink cord trailed up the child's nose. Then Princia lifted her singular eye heavenward in prayer for sweet relief. Heaven would not accept the tainted gift, her own eyes alien to that dark world, only capable of understanding more indefinite things, such as memory or love. One of her pale hands fed into the girl's empty womb, grinding in the gut until its body reanimated and the limbs flapped again. "Don't be afraid, little one." The older woman said beyond the opening gate. The hand extracted itself from young Brio, holding within it a promise, a reward of life. "You shall not speak now. Remain silent and don't let your lips part for fear of drowning in the murky rivers." To Heaven's surprise the girl nodded in understanding, and her flesh immediately flushed with colour, roving the cheeks and lips, painting the torso. The young woman smiled, crystal blue orbs cradling the small kid in icy baths. "When you come out of the rivers, you must make it to the sunlight. You must grasp the sun and never let go. Do you understand?"

Though the fear swam in the silky stare, Princia nodded, her mouth fixated in an awed "o", her hands tugging at curly locks. The sense of recognition remained, touching her chest with uneasiness, and she secretly wished that her daddy were here to save her from the menace. It was only after Heaven gripped her legs that she began to protest again, lips slack in an unending siren. The master of time travel was seated comfortably in the hospital's main office; it was a tiny waiting room, with only a few rows of seating space, and entirely overcrowded. The hustle bustle of the office was completely blocked out by Tropy's solemn thoughts, his hands working carefully to unwrap a chocolate almond bar. The wrapper crinkled, its noise insignificant in the whole of it all, and he dispensed it into the waste bin after reluctantly leaving his chair. Sighing with relief as he noticed that his spot had not been taken, N.Tropy sat down again, mouth closing over the sweet morsel, the rich chocolate melting on his tongue. A smile flickered on his lips momentarily, and then dissipated altogether as the dark reflections played in his brain. Brio was still in critical condition, his situation worsening after the revealing of Princia's death, and he was wheeled away and put under twenty-four hour protection, away from visitors unfortunately. The lofty time wizard had every intention of staying at the hospital until his comrade's release, but his physical body gradually plunged into exhaustion, the weariness heightened by his constant flow of negative thoughts. He was mentally drained as well, the beginnings of a migraine bubbling up to the surface. A constant hum filled the chamber. People were wailing, some complaining, some lamenting over lost loved ones, still others singing happy tunes in the face of death and sickness. Tropy envied the high-spirited latter group of individuals. He found no shelter in pretending that everything was okay, whistling away his problems while hopping on one foot. No one had ever shared with him the secret to coping, but as he looked around at the unfamiliar faces, he was sure that the answer was not to smile throughout your entire existence. In life there was a thing called balance. A time to laugh and a time to cry…

"Oh, GOD help me! My baby! Please, you've gotta help my baby!" An extremely distressed woman lurched through the double doors of the entrance, a lifeless lump of a child spilling over in her arms, its body torn open savagely, ripped from the neck area and half of the way down its pallid stomach. The boiling guts shook like jelly as the woman hopped about, blood soaking the front of her satin smock and spurting from some open artery onto the hospital floor. The crowd hushed as the she fell to her knees on the linoleum, weeping in sheer agony and torment. A small crew of hospital personnel rushed silently into the area, cleaning supplies stacked in their overloaded arms. The ground was a mosaic mess, and the woman screamed louder than before as one of the doctors collected what was left of the child, a sore clot of crimson and mush, and prepared for a thorough examination. "Oh, GOD! No…NO!" Her hands wrung in disbelief, washing themselves in the child's insides that rolled down her garments. Her swollen eyes swung in Tropy's direction, and all time ceased. The crowd stood as still as bronze statues overlooking a million dollar garden, their voices only sounding as hushed whispers, faces ashen with dismay and horror. Those eyes were so human…pleading. With a scream that startled even the one's that had so happily sang before without a care, the woman flung her weight on N.Tropy, grabbing his clothing with amazing strength, her beautiful hazel eyes now stung with madness. "Please help me! HELP ME!" The crimson transferred to his suit, clumps of unknown origins stuck within the colour, and Tropy immediately sprang up in repulsion, knocking the distressed mother a few feet away. Before the woman could protest he discarded the candy bar onto the floor, exited the facility, and vomited the portion of chocolate he had eaten earlier onto the cold, hard pavement.

Flinching from a pain of unknown source, the human female awoke with a start, mouth propping open at the sight of the petite bandicoot standing over her. Heaven sighed, pushing herself up to a sitting position, shaking away the dramatic effects of sleep. With a yawn, she addressed Coco, who was staring at her worriedly, intently, as if trying to read her. "What's wrong?" The question flew in as the bandicoot's emerald globes pierced her, undid her. She self-consciously rubbed at a chosen spot on her face, just in case there was something odd about it.

"You were talking in your sleep." Coco stated, still keeping an eye cocked toward the human, her bottom resting on the sandy floor. The wetness had almost completely dried up from the tiny grains that littered the place, and she was glad, because she never fancied the feeling of grit. Her arms brushed some of the hard pebbled from her sides, elbows knocking against her T-shirt. Inside the hut, the air was more than just chilly. The wind that drifted through the cracks felt like the hands of death grabbing the occupants' bodies, stealing all of the warmth from them, and spitting them back into the humble abode in the heart of the forest. Despite the biting chill, Coco focused more on the girl lying beside her. "You said some pretty far out stuff, so I decided to wake you up." She gave a slight nod, then turned her face away to witness the incoming night. Stars had already spread themselves over the purple canopy, the moon only partially hidden behind the smoky clouds. It would be dark soon, the air full of night sounds and smells. For a moment, Coco thought about walking out and inhaling the freshness, but ultimately decided against it and stood up, stretching, a yawn escaping. "I think I'm going to bed. You can use the couch over there if you wanna, or you can just take the floor. Whatever suits you." She waved a polite goodnight and clicked the door closed behind her as she entered her space.

Heaven trembled, half from the cold and half from something she did not know, the faint images of her nightmare slowly turning over in her mind. There was the girl, the dead one with the one eye, and a place crowned in blue and water, with rivers running deep and wide, stretching for eternity. "You must reach the sun." She said coldly, her voice flat and void of meaning. She was mimicking the phrase she heard before, trying to understand what it all meant. "The sun." She repeated, hands clutching up piles of yellow sand. "You must grasp it. Never let go. Never let …go…." He entered her subconscious again, and the camera rolled along with increasing momentum as she was thrown into various events of the past. He was there in every one, she was sure, the resonance of his speech like the shining sun. FLASH! She was propelled forward at a very intense speed, dusty wind brushing her cheekbones, his hair tickling her nose. Her laughter was unmistakable, gentle and meek. His rose over her own as they bobbed, up and down, up and down, a carousel of jitters spinning out of control. In this she could feel, and the feel of him excited her, made her need him even more so as the frosty tears dug into her jawbone, dripping from her chin. She couldn't stop the laughing and she was touching him again, the fingers lovingly stroking a fleshy cheek, a knobby shoulder. FLASH! This time he spoke in words instead of emotions, his voice still the same, whizzing with some unnatural buzz. "Please…need to….with you….Mi….zz…shz…..please…..help to…..a….an…..please…." She watched him through the foggy glass on the opposite side of the non-reflecting mirror, hands pressed against the pane, knuckles white, hair standing on end as it was evident that he was pleading. Praying. That same word, "please…" remained the factor that separated his world from hers. Please what? Heaven opened her eyes as his picture weakened and then died away completely. Please….what? What did he want her to do? With a weary groan she slammed her head backwards, causing the sand to whoosh up in great amounts around her thin figure. Before she completely fell asleep, Heaven whispered that word again, "Please…"

Nina waited with bated breath for her uncle to arrive in his immaculate airship. The clouds moved in, homing in on her as she stood, one foot resting on the wall behind her, her backpack under the other, her hands crossed with anxiety. She hadn't seen his face in over a year or more and she was secretly excited on being able to skip the remainder of the school year. A cry rose in her throat as she witnessed the huge blimp rising over the city buildings, shadow looming over the grounds, parting the vast amount of clouds that swung swiftly that way. Even the bloated puffs bowed to the superior reign of her uncle's ship, and her mouth opened in silent wonder. She scooped her backpack up onto one arm and bounced off, skipping to the landing pad her uncle had marked for their meeting. All at once her communicator bleeped and, annoyed by this interruption, she whipped it from her pocket and sighed, the number 3650503 shone brightly, blinking in triplets. In a hurry she opened the lid, pulled out the antenna, and signaled that she was listening for the message: H I N I N A W H A T S U P T O D A Y : Her fingers flashing over the red button, she signaled back in a series of feverish clicks : M Y U N C L E I S P I C K I N G M E U P R I G H T N O W I G O T T A G O : She clicked the communicator shut as the wind picked up around her, the blimp blowing hot air on her face, singing through her short, dark hair. With her device pocketed, she raised her hands up to shield herself from the searing blasts, eyes shut tight until her uncle emerged from the whining vehicle and motioned for her to hop on. With a smile she swung her backpack, feet flying over the grassy field in pursuit of her beloved uncle. He was standing there, a huge grin plastered on face, arms outstretched in a welcoming hug.

"Ah, little Nina!" He called as she was in his arms, staring up at him through her windblown hair. "How so wonderful to see you! Did the teacher's treat you okay when they heard the news?" He ruffled her hair, one of his fingers dipping under to tilt her chin up farther. She nodded, steel hands tightening around his slender waist. With a startled cry he gently forced her to let go of him as the pressure drove into him, unbearable. Then he smiled again, patting her shoulder as not to beckon her to squeeze him again. "I'm glad. I'm afraid that if they had gotten angry, uncle Cortex would have had to come and change their minds!" He laughed and Nina did as well. After a few quiet moments of reunion, Cortex boarded the airship, his niece following close behind, skipping all the way up the metal platform that served as a ramp leading to the interior parts. The bionic gothic teen gazed around the large space in amazement, as her uncle had remodeled since her last visit. The once drab décor was now livelier, flashing with fluorescent green and intriguing blues, control panel completely converted into a metal-based masterpiece with the buttons encased in shiny plastic coverings. A row of seats was skillfully inserted into the middle, egg chairs sprinkled with a space-like sparkle. Nina gratefully plopped into one of these cushiony places, arms dangling over the armrests, backpack sitting in another of like manner in the seat directly beside her. Neo nodded in approval of his niece's fascination with the new surroundings, crossing over to the front of the ship and pressing a few buttons on the operating panel. With their course set for his laboratories in the icy artic, he addressed his niece with the news of business, carefully reading her expressions as he explained in full. "The reason I have decided to pluck you from your educational exercises early is because I have a dire situation in my hands, and I fear that I need your help." Nina scooted to the edge of her seat, eyes wide, and mouth twisting up in an indulgent smile. Neo continued, "You know of Brio's daughter, Princia. Well, she had a quite unfortunate… accident." He spoke the last word with a grim tone, his teeth bared, almost as if he were to bite something ferocious in front of him. "In spite of the tragedy and of the doctor's lack of inspiration or hope, I have decided to take it upon myself to reanimate the girl, with of course, making a few modifications here and there to enhance her chances of future survival." A laugh escaped him, and Nina cocked an eyebrow before chuckling along with him, hands clasped together and feet swinging enthusiastically. With a cough, Neo went on again, "But with a dream comes a set of work, a few jobs, and the tasks of gathering the components I need to complete the surgery, and that is where you come in…" He pointed a finger toward his niece as she leaned forward even more, bottom promising to spill out into the floor. One of her feet flattened itself on the hard ground, her hands now gripping the armrests, metal almost splintering through the plastic setup. "You'll be the key to finding the parts I need, starting with a deserved trip to the scenic islands of N.Sanity." He sighed in triumph as Nina conceded. He hadn't even told her of her reward yet, and she was already jumping at the thought of helping her evil uncle. Cortex couldn't help but break out into a smile. He winked at her, "Of course, you'll be compensated for your time and missed assignments."

With a grin, the gothic Nina nodded. She'd not expected to be paid by her uncle, perfectly content in doing his will without gifts. She stood, hands on her hips, head bobbing as her uncle said at last. "You'll not be disappointed, my dear, for where the work is great, the riches are plentiful."

Night had swallowed labs in his absence, and the remainder of the crew grew restless. Dingodile was propped in a reading chair at the far corner of the little study, a book of Shakespearean poetry covering up his entire face. The iambic lines came jumping out at him from the page, storied of pride and murder breathed to life as he read on, eyes crossing every row in bemusement and anxious fun. So engrossed was he in the tale, that he didn't notice Ripper Roo wander in, still filled with psychotic energy, hopping like a one eyes lunatic around the place, screaming a warning in vehement giggles. The crock's eyes twitched at the noise, but still focused solely on his verses. One hand nervously tapped the hard binding, little clicking sounds accompanying Roo's racket. However, after a couple of minutes, Dingo's story lagged a bit, and he finally caught wind of what the kangaroo was saying. Eyes flew open, the book tossed about, pages flapping as it tried to fly, and the pyromaniac leapt to his feet. "What is it you say?" Roo cackled again and Dingodile scratched his head, all the while whipping out his flamethrower, cocking it into firing position. "Can't be. That thing fried a long time ago! You must be mad!" He lowered his voice until it was almost but a whisper, "But I believe ya. Nuts, ain't it." He stumbled from the room, swinging his weapon from side to side as he wound down the circling hallway and into the mini-lab where N.Gin executed the research and concocted his plans of mechanical genius.

The short physicist was already backed up against one of the lab walls, hands thrown up in protest as he pleaded for his life. The robotic device didn't seem to have the ears to hear, or the mercy to extend to the now cowering mechanic that had created it not so long ago, its razor arms cutting close to N.Gin's throat. When Dingodile entered it swung its metal head in his direction, distracted briefly, but enough for the petite doctor to scramble away to safety. The croc aimed his flamethrower at the fiend's head and fired, fire spewing in all directions as a heat flooded the tiny room. The robot bleeped in response, arms clicking into several positions, reeling backwards, feet loosing its ground as it began to topple. Despite what it had attempted to do to him before, N.Gin cried out for Dingo to stop, rushing to catch his creation before it hit the floor.

Before the physicist could reach out, the machine clunked to the ground, some of its external parts busting loose and spouting in the air, hitting the wall behind where the weapon wielder stood, posed for battle. The robot's head was charred, blackened from the onslaught of heat it endured. Before it completely shut down, it gave a final, pathetic beep. N.Gin dropped on his knees, hands splaying out on the hard ground, face bent downward in dismay and melancholy. "Why did you do that…" Fingers curled up, tensed in every joint. The movement looked painful to perform, and Dingodile winced, letting his flamethrower drop to his side, both hands still clutching the handle. With a swish of his tail he signaled confusion, and, through his mop of red, spoke again, "It was nearly complete. Almost. Why…?" His voice broke, screeching the word to a halt.

"It was gonna KILL you, mate!" The croc protested, his dogface drooping at the forlorn look on N.Gin's own, his stance slacking. "Can't you see that?" There was just a slight hint of frustration. One clawed foot thumped the floor in evenly spaced beats.

The other paid no heed to the excuse, a salty tear worming the crease of his nose and seeping into his open mouth. His breathing was sporadic, patchy. "I…worked so….hard…." His left eye screwed shut, "NO!" A gloved fist pounded the ground, making the foot-thumping stop abruptly. Feeling that he had every right to be angry at his comrade's foolish attempt to save his life, N.Gin ordered in an unnaturally harsh tone of voice, "Get out of here. LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Gulping at N.Gin's temper, Dingodile shrugged, tucked tail, and exited the laboratory. He would certainly relay the tale to Roo, who waited patiently in the study. Rocket sounding off in short bursts of black smoke, the physicist could feel his rage escalating with each pump and shakily stood to his feet, grabbing the ends of the metal table as a brace. His robot was lying before him in a burnt clump, useless…lifeless…. Gritting his teeth as he waited for the explosion, N.Gin remembered the last time that this particular android had gone off and had been put down just the same way. He had blown his top then as well, taking with him more than a few random objects that had unfortunately been in the way. His lips rumbled in a frustrated growl. He would have to start all over again, the resurrection of an old life; perhaps he could revitalize himself as well. His eyes shot wide open as the nuclear missile unleashed a shock that swept his entire body and sucked his energy upward in a violent detonation. N.Gin's grip on the table loosened and his body was jerked skyward, limbs now flailing as he waited for the impact of landing. He did so with a rough thump, his figure sliding to the right, crashing into the control panel with the bright green screen flashing above it. "Ow!" He slammed into the gray metal and his body jolted to a stop. For a few minutes he lay, as still as a lifeless rock, breathing shallow and forced. A pain throbbed in his temple. In a moment he would rub it, tenderly. It was in that second that he wished she were with him again, as they were before he had abandoned her, lost her. She would be comforting him right now, soft pallid arms around him, fingers brushing the wetness from his cheek, drying his tears. "Please, I must be with you. I miss you terribly, so please, you have to understand. You must help me. Help to resurrect me. A…an answer…I need you…please…. Please." He cried helplessly into the empty space, mechanical twinge in his voice buzzing. More tears trickled down his fleshy cheeks, striving to beat one another to his chin, down his neck in hot pursuit of a place to fizzle out and disappear. The dark clouds outside split a bit and a nice drizzle of rain clattered to the earth, announcing its arrival on the metal rooftop of Cortex's abode. The rain couldn't quiet the silence that infected the lab like a perilous disease. N.Gin quivered on the floor in despair. He was in desperate need of life, something that would save him from the dead, mundane world that was his existence. 


	5. Despondency

Chapter 5: Despondency

A rushing steam of rain pounded the earth again, signaling the end of short-lived serenity and the calm of a summer day's sun. Feet ran over the ground, mud sloshing up at the ankles, spotting the once pure legs and immortal pleasance underneath. They kept trampling the damp underbrush, crushing every blade of grass and every sunken flower, killing all forms of life in the simple blink of a weary eye that wants for nothing save to settle on a cheek. That cheek would likewise be disrupted of holiness, marred by unwanted tears and shameful scorn of the torrid kind, searing deeper than skin, into the very depths of the soul. It lived and breathed again, feeling the coarse wet coldness of the storm wrap It, tearing at It's newly found garments. The unsuspecting occupants had been kind to It, gave It shelter and a home. And now It still ran… farther away than ever, eyes perked open, mouth twitching at the feeling of still yet being watched by careful eyes. For a moment It pondered going back, retracing Its steps, back to the warm light and smiling faces. No. It couldn't return to that alien world, for thoughts of him still swam Its head even as the rain attempted to help drown the silken sorrows from Its countenance. He would be there, the one of voice, the one of everlasting compassion, he with the softest of hands and the kindest of beating hearts… Him. There was no need for It to place a name on this figure, for It knew that if he was within reach, he would do everything in his power to reel It in. He was that way. An angelic glow in the bitter night fears.

When It had been born into the world It now existed in, he had been there with unwavering courage, aiding It to become a blooming splendor. His odd voice had excited It and made It strong with a verve, a benign will to live and to thrive on that life It had been so graciously given. Red… For some odd reason, It associated this mysterious angel with that bright hue, but It didn't know why that was or how it came to be about. "Please…must…with you…I miss you…terr….understand…help….An answer….please…" There it was yet again, the infamous word It had come to appreciate in a growing fearful way, yearning to uncover what it meant, but all the same horrified to find out the truth behind the matter. Heaven reigned over this disquieting night. Heaven opened It's ears and heard, and It had delivered on promised schedule. Heaven knows.

"She's gone…" Coco rubbed her eyes in dismay, feeling the truth sink in her like a drowning child. "She must have left last night. I…I just don't understand. Why would she go out in this…" With a slight gesture, she motioned for Aku Aku and her brother to look out into the rainy morning. The day was a hot, humid one already, with it being only a quarter past 7 or so, and threatening to become a living furnace. The girl had escaped in the middle of the night, gone for hours, and the female bandicoot secretly fretted for the humanoid's life. Already the heat had made her break out into a moderate sweat. She wiped her brow as the other two pondered the facts. "I just hope she's alright. She seemed so distant last night. There must have been something wrong…."

The witchdoctor mask hovered above his two bandicoot children, eyes turned to the window, staring out in silent reverence of the one that had left them. It had weighed upon him as a determining factor, when the human had first arrived just a day ago, to their little hut by the beach. Aku had promised himself that he would care for her and she seemed to have accepted. Why then, did she run away from their hospitality? With a heaving groan he closed his eyes, wondering. Crash still didn't seem interested in the moment, his attention caught by Coco's blinking computer screen. With his head nodding to the rhythmic beats of the pulsing light, he continued to stare in wonder. For a minute he seemed half dazed, until he caught wind of something foreboding and horrible, and looked up from his contented position to the bleak outdoors. A frown smothered his once placid face as he prodded over to the window, furry head turned to his sister and adoptive father, shoed foot thumping the sand to the unknown tune in his head. He cocked a thick eyebrow at the dreary weather before yawning and turning back to his family and giving them a slight wink. Coco stared at him, confused, then waved off him as a mere annoyance and continued her speech. "I think that I'm going to go and find her." She made a start for the door before Aku cut her off, sternly warning her.

"Coco, it is not safe to venture out in such vehemently pressing climates. I advise you not to go, but if you must go, take Crash with you in your company. A wise man once said that there is a safety in numbers." Though his words were altogether calm, it was also a firm caveat that Aku gave out to his children, for he was forever concerned of their well-being. Crash shot him a puzzled look, a hand scratching the brown top fur of his empty head. Coco sighed as she took her brother's arm and opened the door.

Before she completely left the house, she threw Aku am assuring statement, "We'll be back, with her. I promise." With an unsympathetic tug, she hauled her brother through the opening and into the growing day. "Come on Crash." With that they were gone, Aku peering at their figures with fret as they disappeared into the shroud of rain sheets that plummeted down from the sky. After he could see them no more he turned, thinking again to himself of the procession of events that had passed in the day before.

"Be careful my children."

On a decrepit bench that dotted the sidewalk, he sat, hands dangling between his spread legs, face fully tilted to the pebbled ground. A lonely piece of garbage, a week old wrapper to some sort of caramel fudge bar, floated along the whiteness of the pavement, ends flattening out in the rain, droplets clinging to its edges. He craved such sweetness at the moment. It would be the perfect treat for morning, a minute piece of heaven to soften the blows of despair he had received the previous hours. One finger caught up a raindrop, lifted it to his face so he could study it more carefully, in a trance. The sheets that fell struck him, warped his internal mechanics that fueled his clocks, but he didn't care. His beloved was gone. He himself was gone. The whole universe died in a single breath. "Just not fair." He mumbled, lips only slightly forming the words. "It's just not fair." The droplet fell, reformed by another, then that one, too, fell from the perch. Though the ticking had stopped, his brain still whirred with furious emotion. Everything swirled together with bitterness and anger and misery hinted by a tint of annoyance. So many things had happened at once. Princia's death was the worst scenario of them all, combined with Brio's critical condition. N.Tropy was certain that he'd fall ill himself through narrow pricks of depression. Chocolate. He needed chocolate. Shivering, now registering how freezing cold it was outside, he stood and shook himself, wringing the wet out of his garments as best he could before trotting down the empty lane. A vending machine hummed and whirred loudly, next to a convenience store at a snug city corner block, just a few yards away from the infirmary that held Brio. Tropy drew out a few coins and deposited them, eyes scanning the various selections of syrupy bliss. After he had decided on a peanut butter chocolate cup, he pressed the button that matched its number just to get no form of reaction from the machine. Cursing under his breath, he kicked the side of the device in frustration before feeding it two more silvery coins. The same incident occurred, and he swore again, this time fairly loudly, almost enough to wake the dead. But not loud enough to stir Princia from her deathly slumber. Nothing could ever wake her again. She was too far gone.  
Giving up on obtaining a sugary morsel from the vending area to help soothe his aches, Tropy wormed his way into the sliding doors of the convenience store and blinked into the fluorescent overhead lights that hovered above the rows of snacks, drinks, and souvenirs. Offering the clerk a friendly wave, he moved to the innermost isle where a pleasant myriad of fudges were tidily displayed. He picked up one package after the other, turning the bars over and over again in his hands. It was five minutes later that his communicator signaled to him, just as he was heading to the front counter where the clerk waited patiently for him. He pulled the device from his pocket and flipped it open. Unlike Nina's, Tropy's communicator was speech compatible, trimmed to perfection with input information that allowed picture snapshots, music downloads, and a personal watch. Due to the camera chat feature, he clearly saw that it was Neo's face appearing on the screen, looking pleasantly devious and scheming. "Good morning, Neo. How may I help you on such a lackluster day?"

Cortex coughed as Nina stepped into the view. Tropy raised an eyebrow. "N.Tropy, what a nice gesture of you to offer your help. That is precisely what I'm going to be asking you for." He threw a glance at his niece before he went on. "I have heard the news about Princia, and I can see from here that you are upset. And, my friend, you have every reason to be. However…"

"Get to the point. Cortex. I have no time to muddle in your trivial business today." N.Tropy heatedly interrupted, a grimace forming. He plucked at one of his whiskers. The pretty woman behind the counter up front looked his way in curiosity, head resting on the palm of her hand, elbows on the tabletop.

"Terribly sorry. I'll be quick, I promise." Neo assured the time wizard. "I plan on resuscitating the girl, enhancing her with just a few parts from N.Gin's creations, and of course using her for an experimental rat."

"Neo, you fiend!"

"Now now. It sounds a bit harsh, but I can promise you that her mind will solely be her own. She'll live again, like she should be able to, without a worry. Princia will be normal again." He hesitated before going on, afraid of provoking resistance from Tropy's side. "I have the know how to treat N.Brio as well and I expect you to fully consent to my decisions to work on them both. You'll not regret it." The doctor fell silent to give N.Tropy a moment to reason, his niece swaying back and forth behind him wither arms tenderly crossed.

Despite the spoiled morality of the proposition, N.Tropy's hope soared with Neo's claims to have this cure for death. Little Princia…HIS Pricia, would be able to live again. He would just have to find a way to snatcher from the hands of Cortex before the monster experimented on her like a helpless lab rat, and he was sure that he could escape to safety with her tucked in his wing before Neo could object. And Cortex even admitted to having a treatment ready for Brio, his best comrade and only true friend. Shaking his head he answered, "I suppose it's the best thing to do. I would like to see her again…alive…well…" A smile wrinkled his lips at the thought of seeing her again, holding her, comforting her. Princia would be his alone, and this time he would shelter her and love her even more so than he did in the past. "Yes. We'll see to it that your experiment is funded. How can I be of service?"

With a relieved expression, Neo gladly barked his orders, "Your duty will be to aid N.Gin, Dingodile, and Tiny into capturing a certain someone, and bringing her back for a thorough examination. I believe that she holds the promise of reviving Princia and securing a medicine that will revitalize Brio as well. The heathen escaped just a few days past and we've been searching for her ever since, but to no avail. N.Gin is currently working on pinpointing her whereabouts while Nina is about to be dispatched to gather a few side items for my concoction."

N.Tropy blinked. "SHE'S escaped again?" He shook his head as he heard a growl from the other end of the communicator. The clerk, now looking bored, chewed on her thumb fingernail. Tropy went on, "And N.Gin is actually allowing you to pursue her in attempts to put her down again?" It sounded ludicrous, as he knew of the situation that ensued beforehand about the girl.

"He's not so cooperative, but I'm working on it. He couldn't stand to lose his job." Neo cackled, gloved hand rising to his mouth. Nina now looked as content as the counter person, her metal hand rapidly rubbing over her short hair. "Besides, he signed her over to my use years ago. It isn't like him to breach such a contract."

"You forced him into the agreement, Neo! If he breaches it, I wouldn't be so surprised. I'd say that if you really want to secure her arrival to your labs, you'd better take it directly to N.Gin personally, and not just on casual level." Tropy shook his head, eyes closing briefly in amusement at Neo's words. The short man obviously thought that his second in command would follow him suit in every fact of the matter? It was impossible. Absurd! And after Cortex had shorthanded him so many times, N.Gin was bound to bounce back for retribution. "He'll come back around on you, stab you in the back and double-cross you before you can blink."

Neo hissed, "I think you'd better leave that form of business up to me." He clasped his hands, face changing from one of cloudy anger to heated excitement. "I'll be waiting for you at my labs. Try and be here by first thing tomorrow." Nina nodded, bucked teeth protruding from her thin lips, hands rocking her slender waistline. Before his face spun off screen, Cortex added, "Don't keep me waiting."

Snarling in exasperation, Tropy clicked the communicator shut and stuffed it in his pouch, clutching his candies in one hand and balling the other hand into a fist. With slow procession he waltzed to the front counter where the girl, now reanimated, blinked her amazingly long lashes in flirtatious manner while offering the customer a "hello. " The time wizard placed his items on the flat, plastic slab and waved a casual hand at the bleached blonde-haired teen, his perfectly white teeth flashing. He learned to quickly conceal his emotions from outward view and replaced his scowl with a look of genuine friendliness. Smiling back, the clerk giggled and rang him out, her hand slightly brushing his as she returned his change. Despite the traumatic aura that loomed about his head, N.Tropy felt himself blush deeply, and in a haste, grabbed his chocolate and spun out into the rainy gloom.

In the blue she felt her body pass under the strange light, feet floating out behind her in the murky waters. The waves that lapped at her skin felt as if they were formed of melted ice from the coldest parts of the arctic. Frost glazed her eyelashes and stuck in her thick, dark eyebrows, coating them with a blanket of salty gray. Breath froze in mid air as white puffs, hollow, empty. Princia knew that she was dead, fully aware of the lifeless surroundings and images of worn ghosts dancing along the black ink-lines of banks. Steadily being washed downstream in a supple current, she still had no idea of where her ultimate goal lay, beyond in the invisible world. All that was seen of the road to come was a faint outline that grew with each passing minute, faintly visible in the distant darkness. A soft mewl escaped her lips as she shivered in the fear that accompanied the unknown. Tiny hands soundlessly splashed in the blackened muck. " Oh, Dad-d-d-d-yyyy!" Down and down she sank into that eternal abyss, until her ears could hear nothing but the rattle of her own thoughts and the cries that sprouted from her lips. Tiny arms splashing the cool waves, she looked up, chocolate brown eyes piercing the blue world with ultimate concern. "D-d-daddy!" She attempted again, but the plea fell on deaf ears, and she was plunged into the hopelessness she so hated. Princia gagged, throat retching up some vile fluid, and she spat into the water, disgusted with herself and her life. She was almost glad she was no longer a part of the world of the living. In her few short years on Earth, she despised the fact that her mother died giving birth to her, kicking herself internally as she found fault in her very existence. Perhaps there was no Heaven, not really, but only the woman who frightened her, the one with the pale face and cold voice, the one with the familiar countenance. Shivering from a mental image, Princia curled herself up in the icy blankets, the death grip plummeting her body into a shock state, and she was paralyzed, dazed eyes gathering information but no longer registering. In that trance she floated along on a course to nowhere.

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"This way Crash." Coco crunched through a mass of brambles and thorny branches, stepping cautiously over the hazards as she beckoned for her big brother to follow suit. He came behind her , just a few feet on the tail, his emerald eyes hazy with adventure and wonder. With a hand, he swept back bunches of ropey cord that fell from the high canopy, and trailed his brainy sister with utmost accuracy and prompt. He secretly feared getting left behind on such a morbid day. The drizzle and hovering clouds added and ominous presence to the land that dotted the beach shore, suffocating it with gloom and despair, foreshadowing all that is evil and malicious. His mouth formed into the trademark "o" as he plodded along, aware of every noise, smell, and feeling. Coco didn't seem to be as attentive to her surroundings, but rather she looked distant, her gaze distant and narrowed. She didn't have to speak for her brother to grasp that she was indeed troubled by the happenstances of the week, her heart fluttering in dread and anxiety of the worst sort. "Just follow behind me, and make sure that you don't get lost!" Her voice sounded confident to Crash's ears, but he also knew hat his sister could put on a strong, outstanding front when faced with trial. He simply nodded, tongue swishing in the hot saliva that had begun to drip from the corners of his open mouth. With a slurp he sucked up the syrupy fluid and drank it down with a singular gulp, ridding himself of that nuisance.

The girl had completely disappeared from the vicinity of the forest depths, as there was no trace of her white skin and human fragrances. Almost in disappointment, but mostly out of frustration, Coco stopped at the edge of the dirt trail they had been tracking loosely, arms drooping down by her side. With a small sigh, she shook her head, blonde curls waving as the ocean again came into view, along with the looming presence of Cortex's laboratory facilities. The building teemed with light and life, all of a dark aura. The female bandicoot glanced up at Crash as he came to sit in the muddy dirt by her side. "Oh, Crash. She's gone…We missed her already…" Though she didn't particularly favor a sloppy suit, Coco plopped down in the swampy mess with her brother, severely exhausted from excavating the greenery, probing every nook and cranny until not a spot was overlooked. Coco slowly settled her eyes on her cheeks, long lashes brushing her delicate skin, which glowed even in the misty downpour. Her matted fur didn't seem to disgrace her childlike beauty one bit. "She was probably captured by Cortex and set as prisoner in his stupid labs." She swung an arm toward the dark tower that sat atop the ocean in malignant glory. The clouds swelled, thick and black, above it. "There must be something we can do. There MUST be." She pounded the ground with a fist, mud squashing in between her fingers and soiling her palms. She wiped the muck onto her denim overalls that she had worn for the day and clicked her tongue in scorn, "If only we hadn't fallen asleep so soon."

The other stared off into a deep space, untouched by mortal eyes, seeing something only his kind could see. There was an unwavering hope in his eyes, lighted by the glint of the summer day sun and yet hidden, obscured, by the crying rain. He flicked at something with his finger and Coco watched the motion, understanding at last, mouth parting in a slow whisper. "Crash, I think I have a plan." He looked at her, bewilderment sparking up his adamant face that was transfixed into a "whoa." With a palms facedown on the muddy earth, the female bandicoot traced the shadows that dotted the dreary skies, head tilted upward in a desolate plea for sanity, an order to the madness, a hope.

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He breathed deeply, in and out, chest rising and falling to the tune of his steady heartbeat. There was still a great deal of pain, a throbbing hotness lashing across his bare feet. They had taken him farther away from the comfort, away from any form of truth, away from pleasant company. All that he could faintly hear was the humdrum of people passing by his tiny, miniscule cubical and the springing of fresh thoughts in his head. A whimper could be heard from him, echoing off of the flat, stagnant walls painted a forlorn gray, washed in speckled of pure white that hurt his single eye. N.Brio still lamented over Princia, wet hands clutching up sheet, digging into the fabrics, rendering their quality useless to others now. His face would never be dry again, but rather haunted by the watery existence he would have without his precious angel standing by his side. Her delicate hands had only touched his days past, tiny fingers so insignificant to his, face soft with giggles and etched with youth. "Oh, God, what h-h-have I done!" he screwed up his stern features, breaking them into distressed wrinkles. He kicked one of his legs in attempt to jar himself from what seemed to be a living nightmare transpiring from the hazy world of fantasy.

Before he could flinch another muscle, the door to his cubical opened and a nurse cautiously peeked a head in. She was a stout woman, with a thick hour-glass torso and beefy hands. Her short, auburn hair bounced jovially as she entered and closed the metal slab behind her. A pleasant smile formed her plump lips as she spoke, the voice coming from her so soft and high-pitched that Brio wondered if she hadn't sucked helium before coming to talk with him. "Mr. Nitrus Brio? Hello, I'm Wana Wright, part of the medical staffing, and it seems that someone is here for a visit. Now, I know that you aren't supposed to have any visitors, but the receptionist up front gave this particular individual access to your cubical. Would you receive him? We must have your approval for visitors before we allow anyone in."

He craned his neck, trying to look past her and through the tinted window that led to the main hallway. "Of course. Bring them on-n-n in." Wana nodded and proceeded to pull open the door, revealing the visitor discussed as Doctor Neo Cortex. The short scientist offered his former colleague a warm smile and dismissed Wana with a wave of his gloved hand. The plump nurse shook her head and exited, a look of utter dejection extending her wide jowls. After she had slammed the metal door, Cortex turned again to N.Brio with a welcoming nod and approached the bedside.

"I see that you are doing well. How do you feel?" he shot the chemist a half worried glance. The other half depicted a bright urgency. Brio didn't intend to delay him any further.

"Quite fine. Frankly, I'm just a bit disturbed as to why you have c-c-c-come to visit me in such a-a-a-a manner." His single brown eye rolled casually over his former boss's figure, one hand thumping the sheets now, making muffled noises in the gray of the room.

With something similar to a sneer, Cortex replied hotly, "Of course." He clipped the sentence short before moving onto the important matters of the arrival. "I heard of your quite…unfortunate accident, and I came up with a…proposal of sorts." brio nodded, signaling for the other to go on. Neo coughed. "Of course, I'm sure that you are also devastated about your daughter's untimely death. The facts are there that you killed her…"

"NO! I DID NO S-S-S-UCH THING!" The wiry doctor almost jumped out of his hospital bedding, hands outstretched in attempt to ring Cortex's neck for the rude statement. The shorter man gave brio time to regain his composure before apologizing.

He bowed his head, bald spots shining in the fluorescent hospital lighting overhead. "My sincerest apologies, Brio." he found no compassion in wasting time, however, and moved quickly forward with much enthusiasm, eyes lifted up in wonderment. "Despite her gruesome death, I think that I may have a way to…revive her." Brio's brow shot high upon his forehead at the words, but Cortex gave him no time to give an immediate response. "The components are on their way. I dispatched Nina onto N.Sanity island just before I dropped by for a visit. I calculated that we need approximately twenty-five gems to run my Anim-Mecha machine, a device capable of reviving even the deadest of subjects." He put a hand to his temple and rubbed, eyes narrowing fiercely on the tiled flooring. Brio remained silent still, having no interest in objecting to his colleague's ideas. One of his sweat-soaked hands gently caressed the white rumpled sheets. His Princia may have another chance at living! Her fuzzily tender eyes, porcelain looking hands, chalk white skin… All of her would return and be alive again. Cortex straightened his posture after reflecting for a few moments, attention solely on Brio. "And so I come here to get your approval to follow through with my project. N.Gin's subject escaped with six of our crystals only a few days past, and so I've gathered an army to bring her back, and Nina has promised to take care of the rest."

"N.Gin's subject?" The chemist was thoroughly confused, and the expression showed on his elongated face, wrinkles forming in between the arches of his eyebrows.

"Yes." Cortex wiped his hands together, a look of pure disgust swimming his already strained features. She had gotten out countless times before, and every time had been coaxed into returning by her dutiful master. Now, with N.Gin slightly rebelling, Cortex had no choice but to recruit his army of animals into the matters. She was needed. The key to his future dreams and countless plans rested on her frail shoulders, bubbled from her silky existence, radiated only from her empty eyes. "N.Gin, mechanical genius as he is, created for me a Crystal Carrier. This Crystal Carrier is used to detect crystals in any time/space form or body, and can retrieve them using means only existing to its hands. However, N.Gin made one fatal flaw. He used a human subject, primed with various modifications, to create this being. And since it was human, it came with a myriad of emotions and self-will." Shaking his head again, he continued. "She was a pleasure at first, obeying my (or rather N.Gin's every command.) But then troubles began as she caught wind of my plans for world domination. I have no reason as to why she decided to rebel against such glorious aspirations, but she did, constantly escaping her confinements using her powers." Brio's eyes widened at Cortex's next statement. "Every time N.Gin would go out to find her, he would erase her memory and then bring her back into my lab, where she would eventually tap into her own brain, find out my schemes, and escape again. This time, though, I jumped ahead and gathered a few friends to help catch her, in attempt to kill her of course. We simply can't have her running away with those crystals…"

The silence was horrible. After a long minute of pondering the situation, Brio gave Cortex permission to revive Princia. Before the shorter doctor turned to leave, the chemist asked one more crucial question, not knowing that he would receive the answer in another means, "Who was the human subj-j-ject that N.Gin used for his ex-ex-experiment?"

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Billows of cloudy gray smoke rose from the far corner of the lab, the puffs spouting out in a steady rhythm, like the melodic strains of a serenade hanging about a party room. He slept peacefully, soundlessly, without so much as a snore, his face turned a bit to the side, resting on the cold hard flooring. His hands were straight by his sides, perfectly flat, knuckles knocking the metal surface, fingers curling slightly at the first joints. With a deep breath his left eye fluttered open and his mouth dropped a tad, nose twitching as the dramatic effects of sleep fled from him and he was bitten by the harshness of reality. Yawning, he pushed his little body up into sitting position, sleepily rubbing the fuzziness from his good eye. The other one lolled about, rolling in it's metal socket, registering shapes and objects, colors and shading. N.Gin breathed long and deep, letting his exhalation escape noisily through a partially opened mouth before finally attempting to stand. Before he could gain all of his steadfast footing, a high pitched whine buzzed from the display panel, startling him a great deal, his heart leaping to his throat, one hand flying behind him and ramming into the metal sculpture. "Ow!" His face crunched up as a sharp pain flooded through his arm, and he instantly sensed the warmness of his own blood trickling down his wrist and past his elbow. He was holding the wounded limb upwards, the other hand wrapped around the wrist joint, crimson seeping through his fingers, gushing from the sliced opened hand. In a panicked rush, he scrambled over to a small silvery cabinet and opened one of the slide out drawers, revealing a nice array of medical supplies. He scanned the contents before picking up a couple of medicated alcohol pads, three Band-Aids, and more than just a few napkins to keep the bleeding to a minimum. He closed the drawer with a bump of his elbow and scrambled to the study table, laying out the goods before working on himself with vigilance. His wrist was sliced open horribly, skin splayed open like that of an animal being gutted before a roast. The blood spurted nonstop from the gruesome gash, soaking much of the short physicist's arm up to his elbow. He winced at the scene, already feeling faint due to the amount of blood he had already lost since the accident. The napkins sopped up most of the mess, enough for the sapped mechanic to be able to apply a quick dose of alcohol swipes to the wound, clearing the area of any infections before sticking the three Band-Aids in length around his arm, covering the slit and then some. N.Gin had broken out into a cold sweat, beads of water dripping from his forehead and onto his button-like nose, down into the corners of his mouth and falling from his chin. The pain had dulled a bit, but not nearly enough for him to be completely comfortable. With a trebling bleep, the same display panel screamed for attention again, and the fiery red head turned his gaze upon the green display. "Ah!" A surprised cry ejaculated from N.Gin's now agape mouth as her image flickered on the background. Disregarding his sore arm, the doctor dove from his position and onto a new section of flooring, directly beneath her flickering visage. The lacerated arm soared up to her picture, fingers working in constant motion, tracing over her legs, her thighs, her stomach and shoulders, her face… A tear wrenched itself from N.Gin's eye as he silently watched her run from nothing in particular….or perhaps something he couldn't even understand. No matter the circumstances, he had always cared deeply for her, longed for her, WANTED her… With a sob he began to sing, the metallic robot twinge in his voice making it sound reedy in the echoing lab room.

" Coldness on my shoulders, I wait in this winter day Only for you to turn your head and slip my way Above all else I stand with feet withering in decay Clouds are bleeding upon us Washing us, leading us astray Won't you turn to me now instead of kneeling to pray?

Ah, without pain, you and I!  
Destined to sleep on words gone by No one ever told you this Can't you hear me even now?  
Run, snow dove, into the midnight blue!  
How can I be obsolete when my heart is new?  
No one ever told you this Could you even love me then?  
Fly, white angel, into the permanent dawn You say I'm here but I feel so…  
Gone…"

He choked the last word out, watery face now plastered with hot tears, despondency springing from his cheeks and cascading from his half-closed eye. How could he feel so much when he could only express his emotions through quiet questioning and pitiful pining? His hand now covering his face instead of touching what he could of her, N.Gin sank to the floor, hunched over in the same location that he had awakened upon earlier. The song's notes and lyrics reverberated endlessly in his head, like a broken record, and it fought him and accused him. Accused him as did her eyes in the past. A tightness fluttered in his chest and he clutched at it feebly, willing the torment to spread from him and onto someone else who deserved it more so that he did. The throbbing in his wrist returned ever stronger, beating in time with his aching heart, pumping furiously as the clouds of smoke issuing from the missile lodged in his head. With a savage moan he ripped the Band-Aids from his wound and watched the skin flap open again, the flow of blood reborn, the sting it produced a good medicine for his depression. Smiling in hysteria, he watched the very life pour from him, draining him of will and future. Crimson now came in staccato bursts, pooling around him in a bath of stickiness. He held up his limb weakly, vision becoming faint and blurry as more of the life-sustaining liquid ebbed from his body. Soon he could barely see the hand in front of him, and with a laugh his head thumped back onto the chrome display panel siding, and he drifted off into the welcoming arms of unconsciousness.

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With a blinding speed It ran, tracing the ripples of rain water with It's feet, driving the sound madly into the thinness of the air. In a few hours It would have to stop and regain strength, It would have to rest a while in the frenzied downpour. It knew that he was watching, and It felt his pain and guilt and suffering. The thought of him writing on the callous, hard floor with agony drove It further, made Its legs work faster still, even though thorns pricked at Its exposed hills. The material of the dress the female bandicoot had offered her was splintered and torn asunder by wild branches and lively green leaves. The sleeves were ruffled, unimpressive in style, not holding the same fervent flavor as before when It had tried it on, new out of the dark closet space. It felt unimaginably ugly… hideous… And It wondered if he felt the same, if he despised himself as mush as It despised Itself. Oh, what unspeakable hell! His voice kept coming back, rising up from the dark depths of memory, and It heard the words to the countless songs that he had sang It so long before. But one melody struck out above the rest, its notes long and strained, loud and longing. Where was that permanent sunrise he had told It about, and where was Its wings so that It may become a fleeting dove or a holy angel? And where… where was he standing amidst a frosty winter underneath the weeping clouds? It thought about this for a moment, hoping that he would somehow reach out a hand and bring It under his wing, nurture It, content It with all of his fancies. "Where….are you? I can't…see you… anymore. Please come back to me!" It strangled on a sob that rose from the bottom of Its throat before It collapsed on the muddy ground, forsaken and lost. 


End file.
